In Ancient Egypt, medical practice combined herbalism, faith healing, and magic. One of the most significant records of Egyptian herbalism is a medicinal papyrus unearthed in the 19th century and translated by Georg Ebers.
The Ebers Papyrus has been dated to c. 1552 BC and details remedies for more than one hundred ailments. The prescription for asthma, for example, was a crude vaporization method in which a precise herbal mixture was heated over a brick and inhaled.
The papyrus also describes various common ailments, protective incantations, and such valuable herbs as myrrh (Commiphora molmol), caraway (Carum carvi), and bayberry (Myrica cerifera).
Many Egyptian treatments have since been proven to have sound medicinal properties. For example, honey was often used to heal wounds and today we understand honey's antibacterial properties.