Roman Medici

[Luka Bruketa]

Salve, dear friends and lovers of Rome!

This is my first post ever and I am writing it in behalf of my colleague, currently working on his PhD and writing an article about one medicus from Roman legionary fortress in Burnum in the province of Dalmatia.

Unfortunately, we didn't not manage to find the following article of R. W. DAVIES - The Roman military medical service. Saalburg Jahrbuch 27, 1970, 84-104 . Croatian libraries sadly do not possess this journal, so we would have to pay for interlibrary loan from Germany or somewhere else.

If anyone has this article or the ability to scan it and send to email we would be very grateful.

Thank you!

[Martin Moser]

Hi Luxion,

I have the article, sent you a PM ...

[Luka Bruketa]

Thank you very much!

[D B Campbell]

You and your colleague may be interested in this issue of Ancient Warfare magazine.

[Luka Bruketa]

Thank you! I am positive that we will consult your article also.

[Luka Bruketa]

Brian, I would be glad if you could give me your oppinion about the following inscription – EDCS-10101840 – and the status of the mentioned miles and the etui with surgical tools represented on the monument (H. Liebl, Wiener Studien 24, 381-385; available at: https://archive.org/details/wienerstudien2425wienuoft).

It clearly states that he is miles legionis, but his monumet has a represantation of medical/surgical tools. Is it possible that he had a status like the one medicus ordinarius, whom you mentioned in your article (Ancient Warfare VI. 4, str. 47) and that he „served in the ranks (in ordine militat)“?

Furthermore, you state that „It seems more likely that a man would call himself a medicus ordinarius - or, indeed, a miles medicus, as some did - in order to draw distinction with those non-soldiers who arrived from civilian life...". In which group of soldier would you put this soldier – an ordinariy miles gregarius or in the immunes?

The article about medici from Burnum deals with an inscription of a certain medicus legionis XI , before the legion got its title Claudia pia fidelis in 42AD, whose name is L(ucius?) Varius Aristo – a person with a typical Greek name, as well as most of the military medici...

[D B Campbell]

It clearly states that he is miles legionis, but his monument has a representation of medical/surgical tools. Is it possible that he had a status like the one medicus ordinarius, whom you mentioned in your article (Ancient Warfare VI. 4, str. 47) and that he „served in the ranks (in ordine militat)“? ... In which group of soldier would you put this soldier – an ordinariy miles gregarius or in the immunes?

The inscription is AE 1903, 376. It is curious that, if the man had been a medic, he does not mention the fact. And yet his heirs thought it appropriate to illustrate his tombstone with a case of surgical instruments.

There is no corpus of medical sculpture known to me (as opposed to medical inscriptions), so I cannot say how common this might be. I would hesitate to use this as evidence that the man was a surgeon, although he may well have been a medical orderly. On the other hand, perhaps he died "under the scalpel"? Would it then have been appropriate to show medical instruments?

A most curious tombstone.

[Luka Bruketa]

Thank you for your answer and time!

We also noticed that R. W. Davies mentiones the inscription of Satirius Rufus (R.W. Davies, Saalburg-Jahrbuch, 27, p. 91): "The tombstone of Satrius Rufus of legio XI Claudia at Burnum depicts at the bottom a medical case opened in two; each side contains three surgical instruments inside two retaining bands; they are a scalpel, a retractor for holding wound edges apart in operations,
a double-ended spatula for applying and spreading ointment, another scalpel, and a third type used for trephining, and a pair of long-ended forceps for removing pieces of bone pressing on the skull." In footnote nr. 55, he says that : "...Unfortunately the inscription does not preserve the post Rufus held, although it is clear that he served in the ranks. He was probably one of Paternuss qui aegris praesto sunt. Prof. Birley suggests to one that he may have been a miles medicus, as such early inscriptions frequently do not mention the specific post."

We know that Burnum had a masonry workshop with specialised funerary monuments, which especially after the 42AD have a representation of different tools below the inscriptions – most often those of carpenters and masons – which leads us to certain construction abilities of the deceased soldiers. Following that hypothesis, the representation of surgical tools would lead us to think that the deceased was a member of Valetudenarium, not that he died under those circumstances.

We believe that his heirs would mention the same circumstances in the epitaph, e. g. like the one of Aulus Sentius (CIL III, 6418=9896; ILS 2259; HD061471) which hic est occisus / finibus Varvari/norum in agello / secus Tit(i)um flu/men ad Petram / Longam.
Therefore, it is more probable that Rufus was a medical orderly, but the question remains whether that position puts him in the immunes, because he clearly states that he is a miles.

Thank you again.

[D B Campbell]

We know that Burnum had a masonry workshop with specialised funerary monuments, which especially after the 42AD have a representation of different tools below the inscriptions – most often those of carpenters and masons – which leads us to certain construction abilities of the deceased soldiers. Following that hypothesis, the representation of surgical tools would lead us to think that the deceased was a member of Valetudenarium, not that he died under those circumstances. ... Therefore, it is more probable that Rufus was a medical orderly, but the question remains whether that position puts him in the immunes, because he clearly states that he is a miles.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge of the Burnum tombstones. Your hypothesis sounds very sensible. And, of course, the heirs of an immunis would naturally refer to him simply as miles, which was his proper rank.