Archaeologists have unveiled some unnerving medical tools found amid the wreckage of Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge.
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A urethral syringe used to treat syphilis found aboard Blackbeard's ship
Queen Anne's Revenge, which wrecked off the coast of North Carolina in 1718
[Credit: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources] |
Linda Carnes-McNaughton, a volunteer archaeologist on the project, recently presented what she and other researchers from the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources discovered about the equipment at the Society for Historical Archaeology's annual meeting.
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A mortar and pestle that was likely used to grind ingredients to make medicine
[Credit: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources] |
Among the more cringe-inducing findings were a urethral syringe used to inject mercury for the treatment of syphilis and a clyster pump used to deliver medical enemas for "quicker absorption."
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A pump clyster, used to deliver enemas [Credit: North Carolina Department
of Cultural Resources] |
"We just have to understand that these people were suffering," Carnes-McNaughton said. "They were seeking relief for any kind of ailment, and certainly if there was warfare on the water, there were wounds among other ailments that needed treatment. It wasn't always a formally trained person in desperate times. That's probably more common than we know."
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Supplies used to measure medicine [Credit: North Carolina Department
of Cultural Resources] |
She added that this time period was still "the era of mystical medical treatments" and that outward symptoms were often treated rather than the underlying causes.
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Distribution of medical artefacts at The Queen Anee's Revenge
[Credit: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources] |
Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, ran the Queen Anne's Revenge aground in 1718. The shipwreck was discovered in 1996 off the coast of North Carolina, and archaeologists have completed about 60% of the excavation.
Queen Anne's Revenge was originally La Concorde de Nantes, a French slave ship, that also carried three surgeons, or doctors, to ensure the wellness of those aboard. Those three surgeons remained with the ship after Blackbeard took over to help with the new crew's maladies.
Author: Sarah LeTrent | Source: CNN [January 30, 2015]
