gems, early lapidaries, Greek, Roman, history of gemology

Mély examines ancient lapidary literature in relation to the inscribed stone stamps used by Greco-Roman oculists for marking medicinal preparations. By comparing the names and supposed properties of mineral substances recorded in medical and lapidary texts with the inscriptions preserved on these oculists’ stamps, he attempts to clarify obscure terminology and trace the transmission of mineral-based medical recipes from Antiquity into the early Middle Ages. The study is particularly relevant to the history of gemstones and mineralogy because it treats ancient stone names not simply as literary curiosities but as part of practical pharmacological traditions, illustrating the close historical relationship between lapidaries, medicine, and materia medica.