Bronze Medical Instruments
Several medical instruments have been discovered in Abdera, most of them from houses dating to the post-Christian period.
Probes form a large category of tools that assisted physicians during surgery or patient examination. They consist of a shaft, one end of which was shaped according to its function - such as a spoon, spatula, disc, hook, or scraper. These instruments were used to measure the depth of wounds, cauterise tissue, press the tongue, clean wounds, remove foreign bodies from the ears and nose, and prepare medicines and ointments for application to affected areas.
Forceps were used to grasp tissue and to separate the eyelids during the treatment of trichiasis, among other procedures.
Surgical needles differ slightly from ordinary sewing needles. Fine needles were used for suturing internal tissues, while thicker ones were used for external incisions.
Many of these instruments were also employed in the preparation of cosmetics and body care. Their discovery within domestic contexts is likely related to this secondary use.