LEAD EXPOSURE IN A MIDDLE CLASS POPULATION OF ANCIENT ROME

Abstract

The cemetery population of Isola Sacra dates to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD and consisted of middle class traders and craftsmen as suggested by tomb inscriptions. We present data to show that most of the skeletal remains (humans as well as domestic animals) at the site have become diagenetically contaminated with lead. Analysis of 22 bones from protected monumental tombs, believed to be free of post-mortem changes, shows average lead concentration of 10 μg/g, with the range being 0.87-36 μg/g. The observed bone lead levels are comparable to values that have been reported for many modern urban populations. Calculated average blood lead level was 10 μg/dL (range, 0.89-36 μg/dL) and suggest that exposure to lead was not just restricted to the aristocracy but was pervasive among all social classes of the Roman population. The health risk of the suspected lead exposure dose would have been marginal for the adult population but likely inimical to children. The isotopic composition of the bone lead suggests that the cemetery population obtained their lead from multiple ancient sources.

The aim of releasing this report is to encourage further debate and research on the role of lead poisoning in the decline of the ancient Roman Empire