(^ Treacle_mining time

Theriac or theriaca was a medical concoction originally formulated by the Greeks in the first century AD and became popular throughout the ancient world as far away as China and India via the trading route the Silk Route.[1] It was an alexipharmic, or antidote, considered a universal panacea,[2] for which it could serve as a synonym: Adam Lonicer wrote that garlic was the rustics' Theriac or Heal-All.[3]

The word theriac comes from the Greek term theriaka,
signifying "pertaining to animals"




The ancient bestiaries included information— often fanciful

— about dangerous beasts and their bites.



When sugar was an exotic Eastern commodity,

the English recommended the sugar-based treacle as an antidote against poison,[4] originally applied as a salve.

Historically, the Middle English term triacle[3] was used by herbalists and apothecaries to describe a medicine (also called theriac or theriaca) — composed of many ingredients or one — that was used as an antidote treatment for poisons, snakebites or various ailments.[2]


(^ stopping time and
murdering tunes:

In Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 7, the Dormouse tells a story of Elsie, Lacie and Tilly living at the bottom of a well, which confuses Alice, who interrupts to ask. "The Dormouse again took a minute or two to think about it, and then said, 'It was a treacle-well.'" When Alice remonstrated, she was stopped by the Mad Hatter's analogy: "You can draw water out of a water-well, so I should think you could draw treacle out of a treacle-well." "Alice said very humbly. "I won't interrupt you again. I dare say there may be one".[4]


(^ ok so fer th' punchlinernotes:
Explanations offered

The story given to the listener might offer a plausible explanation such as:

* That Cromwell's army buried barrels of molasses that later leaked and seeped to the surface.
* That prehistoric sugar cane beds became fossilised in a similar way to peat and coal.

There are two theories behind the Treacle Mines of Tadley:

* In the early 20th century, a gardener unearthed a treacle tin (or possibly golden syrup) containing an amount of money.
* More likely, the "treacle" refers to the heavy clay soil of the area, hence Tadley Treacle Mines.

There is one theory behind the treacle mine in Tongham, Surrey.

* A train of treacle was derailed during WWI and rather than move it, local people buried it. The treacle then rose to the surface many years later.

[edit] Origins

"Treacle" originally meant any kind of a thick syrupy salve, and it is likely that bituminous seeps from coal deposits were used in traditional remedies, so this may have been the kernel of truth that inspired the joke. The Tar Tunnel near Blists Hill in Shropshire has natural deposits of tar oozing from the walls which could be said to resemble treacle.

Another explanation is that "treacle" originally meant 'a medicine', derived from the appearance of the Greek derivative 'theriacal' meaning medicinal (Gk theriake = a curative or antidote), so the various healing wells around Britain were called "treacle wells". Treacle later came to mean a sticky syrup after the popularity of a honey-based drug called "Venice treacle", and the continued use of the old form in the treacle wells led to the joke.[4]
(^ yet anotherhanded twister:

History

According to legends, the history of theriac begins with the king Mithridates VI of Pontus who experimented with poisons and antidotes on his prisoners. His numerous toxicity experiments eventually led him to declare that he had discovered an antidote for every venomous reptile and poisonous substance. He mixed all the effective antidotes into a single one, mithridatium or mithridate. Mithridate contained opium, myrrh, saffron, ginger, cinnamon and castor, along with some forty other ingredients.[9] When the Romans defeated him, his medical notes fell into their hands and Roman medici began to use them. Emperor Nero's physician Andromachus improved upon mithridatum by bringing the total number of ingredients to sixty four, including viper's flesh,[9] a mashed decoction of which, first roasted then well aged, proved the most constant ingredient.[10] The traditional theriac, the most expensive of medicaments, later was called Venice treacle by the English.

Greek physician Galen devoted a whole book Theriaké to theriac. One of his patients, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, took it on regular basis.

In 667, ambassadors from Rûm presented the Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty in China with a theriac. The Chinese observed that it contained the gall of swine, was dark red in colour and the foreigners seemed to respect it greatly. The Tang pharmacologist Su Kung noted down that it had proved its usefulness against "the hundred ailments". Whether this panacea contained the traditional ingredients such as opium, myrrh and hemp, is not known.[11]