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THK ROMANS 79

put the three teeth in their respective rings again, antl apphed the pros-
thesis.
This ingenious apphance was found still adhcrenr ro rlu- niandihlc of
a skeleton, in a tomb which, accordin«r to the eminent arch;eoloLnst
Dalli Osso, belongs to a period comprised between the third and the
fourth century before Christ.
From the nature of the objects found in the tomb near the skeleton (a
necklace, perfume vessels, etc.) it was cjuite evident that the skeleton
bearing the above-described prosthesis w^as that of a woman.
As the said appliance was found in South Ital\ (the ancient " .Magna
Graecia") it is quite probable that it was made b\- some dentist of the
Greek colonies.
The above apparatus belongs to the archeological collection of Signor
Luigi Nobile, in Teano, in whose possession it was found.

Fig. 25 Fig. 26

Seen from behind. Seen from above.
A prosthetic piece of very peculiar construction (see description), found in 1907
near Teano, Italy.

The Romans, as well as the Hebrews, and other peoples of antiquity,
attributed great importance to the integrity of the dental system. This
may be deduced with certaint\- from another article in the Law of the
Tw^elve Tables (Table VII, at the rubric De delictis), which says: ''Qui
dentem ex gingiva ex dissent libera houuni, trccentis assibiis niiiliaior,
qui servo C Z." (Whoever shall cause the tooth of a free man to fall
shall pay a fine of three hundred as, and for that of a slave one hundred
and fifty.) The as was worth about ten cents American money, so that
the first fine amounted to about thirt\- dollars and the second to about
fifteen dollars. These sums, because of the difference in the monetar\-
value in those times, were considered heavy fines.
After the Romans had conquered Greece (146 B.C.) a ver\- great number
of Greek doctors went to Rome. The wealth, luxur\-, and ever-increasing
corruption of the metropolis caused the practice of the medical art (which
w^as almost entireh' in the hands of the Greeks) to become a great source
of lucre. But an art practised with the sole purpose of making money
soon degenerates to the level of a trade; it is, therefore, hardl\" to be