Ancient Greece Linked to Earliest Known Lead Pollution, Study Finds
Long before the rise of modern industry, ancient Greece may have been responsible for the earliest recorded case of lead pollution, according to new research.A team of scientists analyzing sediment cores from mainland Greece and the Aegean Sea discovered traces of lead contamination dating back 5,200 years—more than a millennium earlier than previously known.
The toxic metal, a byproduct of smelting ores for silver and copper, was released into the air and later settled into the soil. “Silver wasn’t found in pure form; it had to be extracted from lead-based ore,” said Joseph Maran, an archaeologist at Heidelberg University and co-author of the study published Thursday in Communications Earth & Environment.
The contamination was traced to northeastern Greece near the island of Thasos, a major center for metalwork and silver mining in antiquity. While lead levels remained relatively low during Greece’s Bronze Age, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, a sharp spike occurred around 2,150 years ago—coinciding with the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 B.C.
“As Rome expanded its influence, demand for silver coins and metal production skyrocketed, driving a surge in lead emissions,” explained Andreas Koutsodendris, another researcher from Heidelberg University.
The findings add to previous research, including ice core studies from Greenland, which suggest that Roman-era lead pollution spread across the Northern Hemisphere. However, this study provides a more localized perspective on how human activities shaped environmental conditions in ancient Greece.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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