Ralph Jackson

Jackson specializes in Roman metalwork and the archaeology of ancient medicine. His main medico-historical interests are in ancient surgery, surgical practitioners and their instrumentation. He has directed excavations on Roman military and civilian sites in Britain, and is currently coordinating a a project to publish a newly-discovered Romano-British temple treasure and ritual site. His expertise proved invaluable in the study, description, and cataloguing of over 150 ancient surgical instruments of mid-3^rd century AD date, the largest find of Roman surgical instruments anywhere, discovered during the excavation of the 2^nd Century Domus del Chirurgo - or Surgeon’s House - in Piazza Ferrari, at Rimini, Italy. The instruments illustrate the sophistication of Romans medical practices: the different surgical tools and dental forceps point toward a very educated physician. In 2010, Jackson published Cosmetic Sets of Late Iron Age and Roman Britain and he is now completing a project to publish the Greek and Roman medical collections of the British Museum. His Doctors and Diseases in the Roman Empire (HC, 1988; PB, 1991) remains a reference book to this day. Jackson is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and a Trustee of the Roman Research Trust.