Ancient mud documents the legacy of Rome’s lead pipes
by Helen Thompson
4:36pm, August 28, 2017
Just as modern cities struggle with lead pollution, so may have ancient Rome. And muddy waters preserved the city’s legacy of lead pipes, a new study suggests.
Researchers examined lead levels in dirt drilled from two Roman harbor sites, Ostia and Portus, on the Tiber River. The samples spanned 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1000. Up until around 200 B.C., harbor waters were pristine, but then contamination started to creep in.
https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/ancient-mud-documents-legacy-rome-lead-pipes?tgt=nr
