Lead (Latin plumbum) was widely used in Roman industry and daily life. Archaeological and written sources show that Roman lead production increased greatly during the late Republic and early Empire, reaching tens of thousands of tons per year. Lead was especially important in plumbing and construction. Aqueducts, cisterns, storage tanks, and household water pipes were often lined or sealed with lead, which is why modern plumbing terms come from the word plumbum.
Inside Roman homes, lead was also common. Many bronze and copper cooking pots were lined with lead or lead–silver alloys to reduce metallic taste and add mild sweetness to food. Pewter tableware, made from lead and tin, was widely used. Containers for wine, olive oil, and sauces were often made of lead or had lead linings. A concentrated grape syrup called sapa was boiled in lead-lined vessels and used as a sweetener and preservative in food and wine. Lead was also present in cosmetics and medicine. White lead, known as cerussa, was used as facial powder, eye ointment, and paint, and the physician Dioscorides recommended lead oxide for certain skin conditions.
Ancient writers were aware that lead was dangerous. Dioscorides warned that swallowing cerussa could be fatal and that lead-based medicines harmed the body. Pliny the Elder noted that fumes from lead smelting were poisonous and that wines sweetened with sapa could make people ill. The Roman engineer Vitruvius stated that water carried through lead pipes was unhealthy and observed that lead workers often appeared pale and sick. Earlier still, the Greek poet-physician Nicander, writing in the second century BCE, described acute lead poisoning in detail. He wrote about severe stomach pain, vomiting, muscle weakness leading to paralysis, eye spasms, hallucinations, and death after consuming lead carbonate.
Although lead pipes were widely used, water was probably a less dangerous source of lead exposure than wine. Flowing water absorbed relatively small amounts of lead, especially when the water was hard and formed mineral deposits inside pipes that reduced contact with the metal. Wine and sapa, however, were often boiled, fermented, or stored in lead-lined vessels, allowing much higher levels of lead contamination. Since wine was consumed daily, particularly by the Roman elite, it became the most important source of lead intake.
Because lead entered Roman food, drink, air, and household items, people from all social classes were exposed. Retief and Cilliers (2019) describe two main types of lead poisoning. Acute lead poisoning caused severe abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, thirst, and a metallic taste, and in serious cases could lead to shock, kidney failure, and death. Chronic low-level exposure resulted in what is known as saturnine poisoning. This included ongoing stomach pain, constipation, loss of appetite, anemia, often marked by a blue-gray line on the gums, and damage to the nervous system. Symptoms included weakness, wrist-drop, and brain damage in children. Kidney damage could also cause gout, known as saturnine gout, and affected individuals often appeared unusually pale.
Archaeological evidence supports these observations. Studies of Roman skeletons show increased lead levels in bones, especially among wealthy and urban populations. However, ancient writers did not clearly identify chronic lead poisoning as a medical condition. Their references to repeated pain and weakness were vague. Clear medical descriptions of chronic lead poisoning only appeared much later, during the medieval period.
Sources: Primary and secondary ancient sources as reviewed by Cilliers and Retief (2019)-Toxicology in Antiquity
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815339-0.00014-7, and translations of classical texts (Pliny’s Natural History, Vitruvius’ De Architectura, Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica, and Nicander’s poem).
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Ancient cultures really loved lead. Egyptians had their lead-containing makeup
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Lead (Latin plumbum) was widely used in Roman industry and daily life. Archaeological and written sources show that Roman lead production increased greatly during the late Republic and early Empire, reaching tens of thousands of tons per year. Lead was especially important in plumbing and construction. Aqueducts, cisterns, storage tanks, and household water pipes were often lined or sealed with lead, which is why modern plumbing terms come from the word plumbum.
Inside Roman homes, lead was also common. Many bronze and copper cooking pots were lined with lead or lead–silver alloys to reduce metallic taste and add mild sweetness to food. Pewter tableware, made from lead and tin, was widely used. Containers for wine, olive oil, and sauces were often made of lead or had lead linings. A concentrated grape syrup called sapa was boiled in lead-lined vessels and used as a sweetener and preservative in food and wine. Lead was also present in cosmetics and medicine. White lead, known as cerussa, was used as facial powder, eye ointment, and paint, and the physician Dioscorides recommended lead oxide for certain skin conditions.
Ancient writers were aware that lead was dangerous. Dioscorides warned that swallowing cerussa could be fatal and that lead-based medicines harmed the body. Pliny the Elder noted that fumes from lead smelting were poisonous and that wines sweetened with sapa could make people ill. The Roman engineer Vitruvius stated that water carried through lead pipes was unhealthy and observed that lead workers often appeared pale and sick. Earlier still, the Greek poet-physician Nicander, writing in the second century BCE, described acute lead poisoning in detail. He wrote about severe stomach pain, vomiting, muscle weakness leading to paralysis, eye spasms, hallucinations, and death after consuming lead carbonate.
Although lead pipes were widely used, water was probably a less dangerous source of lead exposure than wine. Flowing water absorbed relatively small amounts of lead, especially when the water was hard and formed mineral deposits inside pipes that reduced contact with the metal. Wine and sapa, however, were often boiled, fermented, or stored in lead-lined vessels, allowing much higher levels of lead contamination. Since wine was consumed daily, particularly by the Roman elite, it became the most important source of lead intake.
Because lead entered Roman food, drink, air, and household items, people from all social classes were exposed. Retief and Cilliers (2019) describe two main types of lead poisoning. Acute lead poisoning caused severe abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, thirst, and a metallic taste, and in serious cases could lead to shock, kidney failure, and death. Chronic low-level exposure resulted in what is known as saturnine poisoning. This included ongoing stomach pain, constipation, loss of appetite, anemia, often marked by a blue-gray line on the gums, and damage to the nervous system. Symptoms included weakness, wrist-drop, and brain damage in children. Kidney damage could also cause gout, known as saturnine gout, and affected individuals often appeared unusually pale.
Archaeological evidence supports these observations. Studies of Roman skeletons show increased lead levels in bones, especially among wealthy and urban populations. However, ancient writers did not clearly identify chronic lead poisoning as a medical condition. Their references to repeated pain and weakness were vague. Clear medical descriptions of chronic lead poisoning only appeared much later, during the medieval period.
Sources: Primary and secondary ancient sources as reviewed by Cilliers and Retief (2019)-Toxicology in Antiquity
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815339-0.00014-7, and translations of classical texts (Pliny’s Natural History, Vitruvius’ De Architectura, Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica, and Nicander’s poem).
Ancient cultures really loved lead. Egyptians had their lead-containing makeup