The Dacian remedies and plants used by our ancestors for various treatments are presented in a unique exhibition at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Arad, in the coming months, and visitors will also have the opportunity to see preparations in the pharmaceutical practice thousands of years ago.

The Arad Museum Complex has a herbarium with over 5,000 plants, some of which are medicinal and have been brought together in an exhibition that reveals how ointments to treat the worriers' wounds or teas to relieve suffering were prepared in the past.

The exhibition 'Medicinal plants from the museum's collections' was officially opened on Wednesday, being organized in collaboration with the 'Tomis' Cultural Association. A workshop called 'Dacian Pharmacy' also takes place as part of the exhibition, until May 7, in which the curative recipes are reconstituted by Sorin Cosma, the president of the association in Arad, who is also a pharmacist. He wears a Dacian costume and explains to visitors how people treated themselves two thousand years ago.

'The Dacians used plants a lot, they were studied by priests. There were studies done at that time too, but unfortunately they never reached us. The recipes were transmitted through songs, in the form of songs passed down from father to son, from mother to daughter or from priest to apprentice,' the Dacian pharmacist- explained to the dozens of visitors, most of them children accompanied by their teachers.

The little visitors were astonished to learn that the Dacian warriors treated their wounds with bear grease mixed with propolis or various crushed herbs. The Dacian pharmacist told them that many of the herbs used thousands of years ago are still used in pharmacy today, but technology has evolved to extract the active ingredients more efficiently.

Museographer Camelia Patko explains that Romania is recognized worldwide for its floral diversity and beauty.

'We have a very rich flora, with over 3,600 species verified so far. Some of the floristic species, besides their role in ecosystems, also have various therapeutic properties. Some of them have been used since the time of the Dacians to treat certain diseases. Medicinal plants have been an important concern of humans throughout their development. In their search for the bare necessities, he noticed that certain plants soothed pain, helped heal wounds, and others cured certain diseases,' the museographer pointed out.

The museum's management believes that the Dacian pharmacy workshop will be a successful exhibition.

'We want children to learn about the concerns of our ancestors, including their health concerns. During the Dacian period, they were looking for plants to ensure the health of the people and primarily of the warriors. There was a lot of fighting, there were wounded, and there were doctors or pharmacists in the camps to treat them. The ancient pharmacy match the one in our days, there are plants that we still use today, but we also use modern pharmacy, because humankind has evolved,' emphasized the deputy director of Arad Museum Complex, Bogdan Blaga, at the opening of the exhibition.

The museum is bringing medicinal plants to the visitors' attention this spring. Displayed in showcases as they would be in the wild, they are accompanied by their popular and scientific names and a brief description of their therapeutic properties. Among others, one can find sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia), broadleaf plantain, yarrow (Achillea millefolium), ivy, nettle, thyme, 'jimson weed' and 'zombie's cucumber (Datura stramonium), mint, old man's beard or traveller's joy (Clematis vitalba), chamomile, smooth bedstraw (Cruciata laevipes), Iris ruthenica Ker Gawl, coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), sage, elderflowers, fennel, wormwood and others.

Preparations of Dacian remedies will take place on certain days until May 7 (April 2, April 9, April 16, April 30 and May 7), but the medicinal plants exhibition will continue until the end of September. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Marian Buga; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)