Open today: 10:00am - 5:00pm (last entry 4pm)
Please be aware that we will be opening at 11AM on 1st January 2026. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

Wooden canister

80A1537

This turned poplar wooden canister was found in the surgeon’s chest, along with ten others which still had their original contents in various stages of degradation.

This canister contained a grey powder, which you can still see lining the interior. Examination of this powder shows it was originally beeswax and poppy oil. This was used to treat inflammations of various parts of the body and could also be used as a painkiller.