Ancient Places

New analysis of ancient Mesopotamian medical prescriptions suggests that, in a small but striking set of cases, patients were instructed to seek out the sanctuary of a deity as part of their healing pathway. The finding stands out because temples and sanctuaries are rarely mentioned in cuneiform medical texts overall, yet here they appear repeatedly in connection with specific ailments. At the center of the study is Assyriologist Troels Pank Arbøll, who collected and re-evaluated the limited prescriptions that explicitly direct a patient to “seek out” a sanctuary. In these texts, the sanctuary visit is not described as the cure itself, but as a prerequisite - something that sets conditions for healing to work. Mixing Magic and Medicine: New Study