Reconstructing a 2,500 year old medical encyclopaedia

Recent research by the BabMed project, led by Markham Geller, has revolutionised our understanding of what the fragments in Ashurbanipal's collection of medical texts represent. The material forms a single body, not a disparate assembly of unconnected works, and consists of 12 treatises dedicated to parts of the body, ordered from head to foot. The treatments listed there facilitate research into ancient medicine, health and understanding of the human body. 

The challenge is that much of the Encyclopaedia has not been studied before, and many of its tablets are still in fragmentary condition. This project seeks to identify and reunite the broken fragments to reconstruct the original complete documents. These will then be read and translated.

Each text in the Encyclopaedia has three main building blocks: prescriptions, medical incantations and concise ritualistic healing procedures. Most prescriptions begin with a diagnostic description, then alternative drugs used for each therapy are listed together with precise instructions for preparing and administering the medication. Finally, there is an optional prognosis for recovery.

Once translated, an open access version of the Encyclopedia will be published, including digital transliterations and full English translations. This will enable researchers to gain a clear understanding of ancient Assyrian medicine and its place in the broader history of medicine.

This project is designed to facilitate future research on Assyrian medicine and its ingredients. For the first time, all the treatises of the Encyclopaedia will be reconstructed as far as the surviving texts allow, and translated into a language intelligible to more than just a handful of specialists.

The project's aims are very simple. The primary outcomes will be:

• Full transliteration and English translation of each of the 12 works comprising the Nineveh Medical Encyclopaedia, plus necessary explanatory notes – all resources will be made freely available on a dedicated website hosted on the Oracc platform.
• A complete analytical index of all the ingredients and procedures used in the medical recipes, supplemented by information from related ancient works. This will show how the ingredients were chosen, and how they were used.

The project will engage a range of expert and non-expert audiences interested in the history of medicine, through talks, blog posts, YouTube videos and other social media. The completion of the project will be marked with an article explaining the Encyclopaedia and its most important implications.

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