History of lead pollution in the Balkans

Researchers report evidence of mineral resource exploitation in the Balkans from the Bronze Age to the Industrial Revolution. The metal-rich Balkan region of southeastern Europe contains some of the earliest archaeological evidence of complex mining and metallurgy on Earth. However, because of the discontinuous archaeological record from the Balkans, the scale and long-term environmental impact of metal resource exploitation in this region are unclear. Jack Longman and colleagues report a continuous high-resolution record of past anthropogenic lead pollution in the Balkans based on geochemical data from a peat bog in Serbia, providing insight into the history of metal resource exploitation in the region. The earliest evidence of anthropogenic lead in this record occurred at the beginning of the Bronze Age, approximately 3600 BCE, centuries earlier than in previous records. Another notable feature of the record is a steady increase in anthropogenic lead from the beginning of the Iron Age, approximately 600 BCE, until the 17th century CE. This finding contrasts with records from Western Europe, in which lead pollution levels peaked during the Roman period before declining. According to the authors, the record indicates a history of continuous mineral resource exploitation in the Balkans throughout the Roman, Byzantine, and Medieval periods, suggesting that the Balkans played a key role in European mining, metallurgy, and associated environmental impacts.

Article #17-21546: "Exceptionally high levels of lead pollution in the Balkans from the Early Bronze Age to the Industrial Revolution," by Jack Longman, Daniel Veres, Walter Finsinger, and Vasile Ersek.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jack Longman, University of Southampton, UNITED KINGDOM; tel: +44-7879774007; e-mail: <j.longman@soton.ac.uk>

###

---

---