Oculists' Stamp

Our Oculists’ Stamp was found by Phil Jones in 1989 on Staines High Street behind where Lloyds Bank now stands. The stamp was found in a rubbish pit with other material dating from the 4^th Century. Its date of manufacture could be any time in the previous three centuries. There are just eight other examples of these stamps found in Britain since WW2. Our stamp is much smaller than the other examples and is unusual in being oval in cross section and not rectangular.

In a 1996 publication, Ralph Jackson reviewed in detail the Staines Oculists’ Stamp. He concluded the lettering had the following meaning, SENI = Senior, the name of the oculist; NARD = Nardinum, nard oil; LENI = lenimentum, meaning a ‘soothing’ remedy used to treat conjunctivitis. The 5^th Century physician Aetius says this about nard oil - It is not easy to give an account of the strength and effect of this (Nardos) medicine, indeed, my readers would hardly believe it because even in the most difficult cases, it returns the eyes to their natural condition.

Nard oil is obtained from the roots of the spikenard plant. Pliny, in his Natural History, tells us the very best nard oil comes from the foothills of the Himalayas, poorer quality from Syria and inferior oil from the Alps. Wherever our nard oil came from, it had travelled a long way to get to Staines! Nard oil had many uses apart from medicinal, was traded widely across the Roman Empire and, kilo for kilo, was more valuable than gold.

We do not have a precise recipe for making the eye medicament. Jackson suggests nard oil is mixed with gum resin, myrrh and other herbs. Other authors also list olive oil as a component. The end product was something solid enough to be stamped and able to mix with a liquid to form an eye salve. Most likely the medicament resembled a small bar of soap, shavings from which would be combined with a liquid to form the salve.

Our activity in the museum attempts to recreate this by using a 3D printed copy of the stamp to imprint into plasticine. The small size of the lettering is testament to the great skill of the stone mason in creating the original. We use a bar of soap to recreate making of the eye salve.