The post Lead and the Roman water system appeared first on Archaeology of Portus: Exploring the Lost Harbour of Ancient Rome.
]]>By measuring the isotopic composition of the lead in the sediments of the docks of the port of Imperial Rome (Portus) and the Tiber, a new study has shown that the piped water of ancient Rome contained up to 100 times more lead than the local water sources. Moreover, fluctuations in the isotopic signal of the lead in the sedimentary deposits studied indicate that they are closely linked to major historical events that affected Rome and its water distribution systems in late antiquity.
This research was conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers in Lyon involving the Laboratoire d’Environnement, Ville, Société (EVS, CNRS/Lyon2/Lyon3/UJM/INSA de Lyon/ENS de Lyon/ENTPE), the Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon Terre, Planète, Environnement (ENS de Lyon /Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1/CNRS) and the Laboratoire Archéorient (CNRS/Université Lumière Lyon 2) of the Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée – Jean Pouilloux. This study was published in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in April 2014.
Research paper: http://www.pnas.org/content/111/18/6594.abstract
Guardian link: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/apr/21/ancient-rome-tap-water-contaminated-lead-researchers
The post Lead and the Roman water system appeared first on Archaeology of Portus: Exploring the Lost Harbour of Ancient Rome.
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