Ancient materia medica, modern therapeutic substances and drugs of abuse through dental calculus

“Medicamenta” (drugs, remedies, sometimes poisons) were prominent in the lives of ancient Romans. Physicians used a wide range of crude drugs obtained from natural sources, such as herbs and animals but also minerals and metals, for therapeutic purposes. Reconstructing materia medica is often problematic, especially when archaeological evidence is missing. Recently, therapeutic ingredients and drugs have been identified in dental calculus. This oral mineralized deposit has proven to offer unparalleled biographical information on ancient diet, health, and living conditions. ROMAN CALCULUS will set standards for detecting residues of opiates, cannabis, drugs and other mineral or metal substances possibly used in the past by integrating, for the first time archaeological science, clinical and forensic disciplines.