32. The Romans’ Lead Exposure Levels Were Off the Charts
Today, we try to keep as far away from lead as possible. We don’t allow it in children’s toys, and are backing off of using it in paint. The ancients, however, did not know what we know about lead. The use of lead in Roman hair dyes was just one illustration of a widespread Roman tendency to use it in ways that modern science has revealed to be extremely dangerous. There is a theory that Romans – particularly elite Romans who could afford it – used lead pipes to carry water into their homes, resulting in widespread lead poisoning. It might also shed light on what made so many Roman rulers were so nutty.
Whatever the merits of that theory – and modern research indicates that lead levels from Roman pipes might not have been that dangerous – Romans were exposed to lead in a variety of other ways that ensured they ingested it at exceptionally high levels. For example, the Romans used cooking pots made of lead. They drank water and wine from lead jugs, poured them 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. To seal those amphorae, they routinely used lead, with the result that lead particles made it into just about every sip of wine, or bite off 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.