10 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Mysterious Archaeological find in Flanders Revealed to be Hernia Truss

The hernia truss found during the Hopmarkt excavations in Aalst, in the Belgian state of East Flanders, was a surprise for the researchers.

An archaeological survey was conducted in the city of Aalst in Hopmarkt in 2004-2005. Among other things, archaeologists studied a significant part of the Carmelite monastery (1497 – 1797). In the convent of this monastery, they found a strange object in the form of an arc, in layers corresponding to the tomb levels. Its original function was not known.

After some of their studies, the researchers discovered the object was a kind of belt used in people with inguinal (groin) hernias.

“It is a kind of belt that was used for people with inguinal (groin) hernia. Patients with this condition have a cavity in the abdominal wall through which intestines bulge out,” Jan Moens of the Agency for Immovable Heritage said on Flemish radio.

“The belt consists of metal, leather and a pressure ball that keeps everything in place at the site of the wound.”

Photo: Flemish Agency for Immovable Heritage

The trusses have been used for centuries, with doctors and surgeons even bringing all kinds of different models on the market, according to him.

As an archaeological find, however, they are rather rare. “In the Netherlands, a few have turned up, but this is a first for Flanders.”

Additionally, the find is even more special, because the belt’s owner was found as well, as if by chance.

“At the moment, we are conducting another study in which we are analysing the Codex 156. That is a very old book that is in the library of the University of Leuven,” Moens said. “It also contains the accounts of the Carmelite monastery of Aalst from 1738 to 1796. And the name of brother Patrick, the patient who suffered from an inguinal hernia, also appears in it.”

In the Codex, there is a first mention under the year 1754, when the monastery paid five nickels for the belt

“Such a belt is not expensive when you compare it to the other costs in the list, it cost about as much as a chicken back then,” he said.

A new report was found in 1758, then explicitly mentioning the name of monk Patrick. “It is very special that so many years later and after further research, we can even put a face to an 18th century find about which we were in the dark for a long time.”

Source: The Brussels Times

Cover Photo: Flemish Agency for Immovable Heritage

Related Articles

Africa May not be Where the First Pre-Human First Appeared

22 March 2021

22 March 2021

According to one opinion: About 2 million years ago, our first ancestors moved north from their hometown and left Africa....

The mystery of Cathedral of Salamanca’s astronaut figure, isn’t what people think it is

10 March 2022

10 March 2022

There is a photograph of an “astronaut” carved in a 16th century Spanish cathedral in Salamanca. Known as the Catedral...

Interesting from Each Other 7 Amazing Historical Discoveries

21 April 2021

21 April 2021

Archaeologists signed interesting from each other and magnificent discoveries with their work in the last 20 years. Let’s take a...

World’s Oldest Murder

14 February 2021

14 February 2021

Researchers found a mass grave in a cave in Spain, now known as Sima de los Huesos, or the Pit...

The Earliest Evidence of a Domesticated Dog in the Arabian Peninsula

9 April 2021

9 April 2021

Dogs have been the best friend of humans since ancient times. Although it is not known exactly when dogs were...

Jade Burial Suits of the Han Dynasty

12 September 2021

12 September 2021

Threaded hand-crafted from thousands of precious stone slabs with silver and gold during the Han Dynasty about 2000 years ago,...

Dental Treatments That Surprised Neanderthals

10 April 2021

10 April 2021

Before the invention of modern dental instruments, people tried to treat teeth using primitive methods. Nobody wants to have a...

The Oldest Known Map of Europe, “Saint-Bélec Slab”

6 April 2021

6 April 2021

An ornate Bronze Age stone slab (Saint-Bélec slab) that was excavated in France in 1900 and forgotten about for over...

The Historical Building Next To The Million Stone Will Sell

6 February 2021

6 February 2021

Everyone has heard of the Million Stone, which was built during the Byzantine Empire and accepted as the zero points...

5,700-Year-old Ancient “Chewing Gum” Gives Information About People and Bacteria of the Past

4 April 2021

4 April 2021

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have successfully extracted the complete human genome from “chewing gum” thousands of years ago....

China’s 4300-Year-Old Ancient Pyramids

26 March 2021

26 March 2021

Shaanxi Province in Northwest China is famous for its rich archaeological treasures. Among the many sites discovered in Shaanxi, the...

Iconic Double Arch collapsed after an ancient pyramid in America, Tribes Link Fall With ‘Bad Omen’

10 August 2024

10 August 2024

Two ancient North American structures collapsed within just nine days of one another. The iconic Double Arch, also known as...

World’s First Pregnant Ancient Egyptian Mummy has been Discovered

29 April 2021

29 April 2021

Experts from the Polish Academy of Sciences aim to research all mummies in museums as part of the Warsaw Mummy...

‘Dinosaur dance floor’ dating back 80 million years found in China

20 April 2021

20 April 2021

In China, researchers have found many dinosaur footprints in an area of 1,600 square meters described in the literature as...

New Details on Mummification Techniques

28 February 2021

28 February 2021

In ancient Egypt, embalming was considered a sacred art, and knowledge of the process was restricted to a few. Egyptologists...