Ebers papyrus

Section of the Ebers papyrus

The Ebers papyrus is a medical papyrus from ancient Egypt . Along with the Edwin Smith Papyrus, it is one of the oldest surviving texts and is also one of the oldest known texts on medical topics, including a wide range of descriptions of diseases and their symptoms and diagnoses . Furthermore, the papyrus contains instructions for treatments and for the preparation of remedies , for example against injuries , parasites and dental complaints , but also gynecological tips, such as for example for contraception . In addition, magic spells are given to support the healing success. In addition, the heliacal rise of Sirius was noted in the civil calendar with 9th Epiphi (9th Ipip) in the 9th year of Amenhotep I's reign .

Traditionally, it was mostly written from the last quarter of the 16th century BC. Based on the dating of Richard Lepsius . The last proponent of this thesis was Kenneth Anderson Kitchen . Both Egyptologists referred to the noted Sirius rise in their acceptance . Intermediate paleographic research has shown that the medical records are probably a few decades older, were written during the reign of Pharaoh Ahmose and represent possible copies of older documents.

Location and content

The Ebers papyrus, bought by Edwin Smith (1822–1906) in Luxor (in the former Thebes ) in 1862 , was made there in the winter of 1872/73 by Georg Ebers with the money of the King of Saxony (15,000 thalers) and money from the university travel grant fund (25,000 Taler), incorporated into the holdings of the Leipzig University Library and published by Ebers in a two-volume facsimile edition with commentary and glossary in 1875. The manuscript is still in the Leipzig University Library today.

Medical records

Ebers papyrus: Case study
"Tumor against the deity Xenus"

It was written in hieratic script and represents the largest record of ancient Egyptian medicine. The Ebers papyrus is the longest medical papyrus and has a total length of 20 meters. The scroll originally consisted of 108 columns , numbered 1 to 110 (numbers 28 and 29 are omitted). The papyrus suffered significant damage during the Second World War . Columns 54, 56, 94 and 109 are damaged or only exist in fragments. Columns 48, 49, 55, 80–82, 93/110, 98/106, 99, 100/104, 101, 102/103 and 105 are lost today. The 108 columns are divided into 877 magical formulas and remedies. Although it is full of incantations to drive away disease-causing demons, there is evidence of empirical treatment and observation.

The papyrus contains chapters on intestinal diseases and parasites , eye and skin problems , contraception and gynecological diseases, dentistry , the surgical treatment of abscesses and tumors and the straightening of bones and burns. There is also a short chapter on clinical depression . The mention of the stonemason's pulmonary lung is one of the oldest evidence of occupational medicine .

It also contains a treatise on the heart and vessels. Although the Egyptians knew little about the existence of the kidneys and viewed the heart as the meeting point of various vessels in the body - not just blood, but also tears, urine, and even semen - they recognized not only the presence of blood vessels throughout the body, but also those Function of the heart as its center.

In terms of medical history, the Ebers papyrus is supplemented by the Edwin Smith papyrus, also discovered in Thebes in 1862 , which dates back to the end of the 12th dynasty - around 1780 BC - and is mainly concerned with surgery .

The Ebers calendar

The later entry of the heliacal rise of Sirius can doubtlessly date back to between 1531 BC. BC and 1516 BC And has no connection with the medical reports. On the back of the papyrus there are calendar entries relating to Amenhotep I, which include the 9th Epiphi as New Year's Day.

The reason for the additional entry by an attentive Egyptian scribe may have been the very rare constellation that the heliacal rising of Sirius took place on Thoth 1 (New Year's Day) of the Sothis lunar calendar in combination with the day Amenhotep I ascended the throne (June 27, 1517 BC) According to the Gregorian calendar or on July 10, 1517 BC according to the proleptic calendar).

literature

Georg Ebers (Ed.): Papyros Ebers. The Hermetic Book on the Medicines of the Ancient Egyptians in Hieratic Script. Engelmann, Leipzig 1875 (digitized version)
Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert (ed.): Ebers papyrus and ancient medicine (= Philippika. Volume 7). Files from the conference from 15. – 16. March 2002 in the Albertina / UB of the University of Leipzig. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-447-05209-0 .
Heinrich Joachim: Papyros Ebers. The oldest book on medicine. For the first time fully translated from Egyptian. Reimer, Berlin 1890 (digitized version)
Rolf Krauss : Sothis and moon dates. Studies on the astronomical and technical chronology of ancient Egypt (= Hildesheimer Egyptological contributions. Volume 20). Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1985, ISBN 3-8067-8086-X .
Georg Möller: Hieratic palaeography. The development of the Egyptian book script from the 5th Dynasty to the Roman Empire. 4 volumes, reprint of the 2nd, improved edition from 1927–1936, Zeller, Osnabrück 1965;
- Volume 1: Until the beginning of the eighteenth dynasty.
- Volume 2: From the time of Thutmose III to the end of the twenty-first dynasty.
- Volume 3: From the twenty-second dynasty to the third century AD
- Volume 4: Supplement to Volume I and II.
Richard Anthony Parker : The calendars of ancient Egypt (= Studies in ancient Oriental Civilization. Volume 26, ISSN 0081-7554 ). University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL 1950.
Reinhold Scholl : The Ebers Papyrus. The largest book scroll on the medicine of ancient Egypt (= writings from the Leipzig University Library. Volume 7). University Library, Leipzig 2002, ISBN 3-910108-93-8 .

Web links

Commons : Papyrus Ebers - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Kamal Sabri Kolta: Papyrus Ebers. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 109 f .; here: p. 109.
↑ Leipzig University Library - Ebers papyrus .
↑ Nadine Quenouille, Reinhold Scholl: "... Heureka ..." or the history of the papyrus collection. Acquisition and Research. In: Reinhold Scholl (ed.): Buried, Lost, Found, Researched. Papyrus treasures in Leipzig (= writings from the Leipzig University Library. Vol. 20). Catalog for the exhibition, Leipzig University Library, June 18 to September 26, 2010. University Library, among others, Leipzig 2010, ISBN 978-3-910108-86-8 , pp. 6–9, here p. 6. Cf. also: Reinhold Scholl: The Ebers Papyrus. The largest book scroll on the medicine of ancient Egypt. 2002, p. 32. For the complete acquisition history, see ibid.
^ Rolf Krauss: Sothis and moon dates. Hildesheim 1985, pp. 116-118.

[1] Kamal Sabri Kolta: Papyrus Ebers. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 109 f .; here: p. 109.

[2] Leipzig University Library - Ebers papyrus .

[3] Nadine Quenouille, Reinhold Scholl: "... Heureka ..." or the history of the papyrus collection. Acquisition and Research. In: Reinhold Scholl (ed.): Buried, Lost, Found, Researched. Papyrus treasures in Leipzig (= writings from the Leipzig University Library. Vol. 20). Catalog for the exhibition, Leipzig University Library, June 18 to September 26, 2010. University Library, among others, Leipzig 2010, ISBN 978-3-910108-86-8 , pp. 6–9, here p. 6. Cf. also: Reinhold Scholl: The Ebers Papyrus. The largest book scroll on the medicine of ancient Egypt. 2002, p. 32. For the complete acquisition history, see ibid.

[4] Rolf Krauss: Sothis and moon dates. Hildesheim 1985, pp. 116-118.