During the medieval and early modern periods, Europeans believed that stones found in the stomachs of hoofed animals, which were formed from indigestible impurities, were the most effective cure-all and talisman. As a result, they spared no expense in acquiring and decorating these stones, even creating pure gold containers to store them.
Priced Ten Times Higher Than Gold
Hoofed animals occasionally develop gastric stones, which are formed from the accumulation of indigestible materials they consume, such as hair, hard seeds, and stones.
The formation process is similar to that of pearls, where minerals, primarily calcium and magnesium phosphate, build up around solid objects like stones or cellulose over a long period.
Stomach contractions smooth the stones, and the layers of calcium and magnesium phosphate cause them to grow larger, potentially reaching the size of a chicken egg, or even as large as a fist.
Goats are the primary source of gastric stones. (Photo: Alamy.com).
Humans began hunting and domesticating hoofed animals long ago. In ancient times, it was believed that the gastric stones of deer were crystallized tears from the animal when bitten by a snake.
The snake venom caused the deer such intense stomach pain that the tears flowed back inside and crystallized into stone. By the 1st century AD, superstitions arose in Persia and Arabia that “gastric stones from hoofed animals are amulets against assassination and extremely effective antidotes.” Gradually, these beliefs spread to Europe.
The most commonly domesticated hoofed animal in Europe is the goat. Starting in the 11th century, goat gastric stones became the most valuable talisman and medicinal stone. It was believed that no matter what illness one had, simply grinding a small amount of stone powder from goat gastric stones and mixing it with water or wine would cure them. For food and drink suspected of being poisoned, one would simply need to sprinkle a bit of goat gastric stone powder to neutralize the poison.
The first people captivated by goat gastric stones were kings, military leaders, and nobles. Constantly engulfed in fears of assassination and poisoning, they needed this “magical stone” for protection. In the 17th century, many wealthy merchants were willing to pay ten times the price of gold for a goat gastric stone of equal weight.
Gold Containers
The craze for goat gastric stones in Europe lasted a long time, from the 12th to the 18th centuries. The wealthy and elite owned goat gastric stones outright, while the poor had to borrow or rent them from herbalists or priests.
In the 17th century, a group of Jesuit priests in Goa, a Portuguese colony in India, even produced “artificial goat gastric stones” by compressing a mixture of unusual ingredients such as sea unicorn horn, amethyst, rubies, emeralds, corals, and pearls into stone and named it Goa stone, exporting it to England.
The value of Goa stones was equivalent to that of real goat gastric stones, both being ten times the price of gold. Quickly, both real and artificial goat gastric stones became the most powerful stones, even symbols of status. English craftsmen endeavored to adorn them beautifully, eventually designing the most perfect container as an egg-shaped or round gold box.
In the 17th century, goat gastric stones were priced ten times higher than gold. (Photo: Wikipedia.org).
The gold box containing the goat gastric stone was designed to match the size of the stone, with a maximum diameter of 14cm, featuring a Mughal lattice design combined with rich decorative patterns like unicorns, hawks, camels, and sphinxes. Because of its spherical shape, it required a stand, which also had to be made of gold.
The stand for the round box containing the goat gastric stone typically took the form of a three-legged base. The legs were artistically curved, sometimes resembling a winged monkey with a crown. A complete round box with its stand could cost between £30,000 and £40,000.
In contrast to the lavish container, goat gastric stones are rather dull, simply being brown stones or pebbles. Users who employed them as talismans would gild them for aesthetics, while those using them for medicinal purposes would leave them in their natural state.
From the very onset of the goat gastric stone craze, some people began to doubt its efficacy. In the 16th century, in France, a surgeon named Ambroise Paré publicly demonstrated the non-existent detoxifying properties of goat gastric stones.
The subject of his experiment was a condemned chef. This individual agreed to switch to drinking poison in hopes of being saved by the goat gastric stone and regaining his freedom. Of course, the goat gastric stone did not save him from his fate of death.
A complete gold box containing a goat gastric stone with its stand and stone inside. (Photo: Ancient-origins.net).
Contrary to Dr. Paré’s expectations, no one cared about the “obvious truth”. Sales of both real goat gastric stones and Goa stones, along with their containers, continued to rise. It wasn’t until the 19th century that Europe acknowledged that these stones had no medicinal effects. On the contrary, some minerals in Goa stones were even toxic, causing patients to become weaker and even die.
Today, both goat gastric stones and Goa stones are merely a shameful relic of a time of ignorance. Some museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (USA) and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (Austria), display Goa stones and their containers. Although ineffective in preventing assassination and detoxification, they remain beautiful and worth admiring.
