A Roman incantation is wielded to ward off disease, unusual remedies carved in Chinese grottos provide ancient medical advice, and a fossilised squid in a medieval Polish grave reveals ancient medical magic.

During times of war and plague, barber surgeons provide medical interventions. Astrologer-physicians look to astrological charts to treat their patients. And groundbreaking surgical practices arise from an innovative figure in ancient India.

A Roman shipwreck reveals the oldest known medical tablets, poppy-shaped jars in a Canaanite tomb trace the roots of opioid use and a Stone Age skeleton with an amputated leg challenges our understanding of prehistoric medicine.