Open today: 10:00am - 5:00pm

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.