Ancient 'cancer charm necklace' discovered
During excavations at the ancient city of Pisidia Antiocheia in the Yalvaç district of Isparta, a charm necklace dating back to the 4th century AD, believed to have been made for cancer, was discovered.
AA
Excavation head Prof. Dr. Mehmet Özhanlı told reporters that the necklace was found during excavations around the church located on Aedilicus Hill in the ancient city.
Stating that research determined the charm necklace was made to combat cancer, Özhanlı said, "The data obtained after studies on the amulet, which is one of the most unique artifacts found in the Antiocheia excavations to date, has further increased the importance of the find."
Özhanlı stated that the necklace sheds light on the origins of knowledge regarding cancer in the ancient period, and noted the following:
"On one side of the necklace, which a father had made and placed around his daughter's neck as an amulet for her recovery after she fell ill, there is a crab, and on the other side, there are words written for her to be cured of this disease. The comparison of a cancerous tumor to a crab is actually the reason for the name of the disease.
Because 'karkinos' means crab in Greek. Today, the word 'cancer' also takes its name from the Greek word for 'crab'.
Such charm stones were widely used from the Hellenistic period until the 4th century AD. The example found in Antiocheia provides the best-preserved and most meaningful imagery and textual content found in Anatolia to date."