Historical Origins of Lithotherapy and Human Health

Abstract

The article proves that the health problem has always been at the epicentre of research. This search is 
multidirectional, from natural remedies to pharmacological inventions. Lapidary (from the Latin lapis – stone) 
is the doctrine of stones. The problem of lapidary has deep historical origins in the works of Theophrastus, Pliny 
the Elder, and Vitruvius. That's why the term lithotherapy – treatment with precious stones – even appeared. 
Today, this phenomenon is called the medicine of the 21st Century.
 The authors note that a special place among the sources is occupied by the poem about stones by Marbod of Rennes, 
The Lapidaries. Bishop Marbod claimed that God had endowed precious stones with even greater power than herbs. 
Each 60 chapters of Marbod's poem is dedicated to a particular stone. The poem contains many recommendations for 
practical, medicinal interpretation of the properties of stones. All 60 chapters present a particular type of stone and 
explore its properties that affect health. In the article, the authors argue that we should not question the usefulness of 
minerals that Marbod wrote about but have not yet been fully explored by modern medicine. After all, having been 
formed in the Earth’s crust over millions of years, minerals can be active agents with properties that modern science 
has not yet understood. The problem has found its manifestation in lithotherapy, which includes mineral therapy, 
crystal therapy – treatment with crystals, and stone therapy – treatment with stones. It is not only stress relief but also 
treatment of musculoskeletal injuries, vascular diseases, muscle pain, prolonged colds, cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, 
and improvement of internal organs, namely, diseases of the pancreas, stomach, bladder, obesity, and menstrual 
pain. The next task for researchers is urgent and crucial: to discover the medicinal properties of minerals further. 
This is especially in demand in the current conditions of war when the problem of rehabilitation of the Armed Forces 
soldiers who need both medical and physiotherapy treatment is acute