5. Lead Exposure Was Through the Roof in Ancient Rome
Nowadays, we try to keep as far away from lead as possible. We don’t allow it in children’s toys and have reduced its use in paint. Ancient Romans, however, did not know what we know about lead. The use of lead in hair dyes was just one illustration of a widespread Roman tendency to use it in ways that modern science has revealed to be dangerous. There is a theory that Romans – particularly elite Romans who could afford it – used lead pipes to carry water into their homes, which led to widespread lead poisoning. It might also shed light on what made so many Roman rulers were so bizarre.
Modern research indicates that lead levels from Roman pipes might not have been that dangerous, however. Nonetheless, Romans were exposed to lead in a variety of other ways that ensured they ingested it at exceptionally high levels. For example, they used cooking pots made of lead. They drank water and wine from lead jugs, poured into lead cups. They used amphorae to transport and store chief staples such as wine, olive oil, and their favorite sauce – a rotten fish concoction called garum – that were sealed with lead. As a result, lead particles made it into just about every sip of wine, or bite of their staple meal – bread dipped into olive oil or garnished with garum. They also used lead in jewelry, to help keep precious stones in place.