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Discover how lead pollution, which originated in ancient Aegean civilizations, affected the environment more than 5.000 years ago, revealing lasting impacts on human history
For thousands of years, the Aegean Sea has been a meeting point for great civilizations, such as the Bronze Age kingdoms and the military and cultural power of Greece and Rome.
In addition to their artistic and philosophical wealth, these societies also left a less visible legacy: traces of pollution by heavy metals, such as lead, which are deeply buried in the sediments of the sea and land they occupied.
These traces revealed that environmental pollution caused by human activities began much earlier than previously thought.
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Early signs of lead pollution
Researchers at Heidelberg University, led by Dr. Andreas Koutsodendris, have carried out a detailed analysis of sediment cores taken from the bottom of the Aegean Sea and the surrounding peatlands.
The study found that the earliest evidence of lead pollution dates back to around 5.200 years ago, much earlier than previously thought. The evidence was found in a core taken from the Tenaghi Philippon peat bog in northeastern Greece.
"This signal dates back about 1.200 years before the previous record of pollution”, says Dr. Koutsodendris, highlighting the importance of the finding for understanding the history of environmental contamination.
The beginning of metallurgy and the environmental impact
At the time, early societies in the region were experimenting with metallurgy and agriculture. Lead pollution, researchers believe, arose as a byproduct of silver production.
"Lead was released during silver production, and increasing environmental lead concentrations are an indicator of major socioeconomic changes”, explains Koutsodendris.
Over time, metallurgical and agricultural activity expanded, and lead pollution intensified. The researchers analyzed pollen preserved in sediment cores to reconstruct the evolution of vegetation in the Aegean.
Approximately 2.150 years ago, a period of accelerated deforestation and agricultural expansion was recorded, coinciding with the conquest of Hellenistic Greece by the Romans.
The intensification of mining and deforestation
During Roman rule, mining for metals such as gold and silver intensified. For this purpose, large quantities of wood were permitted as fuel.
Deforestation was particularly noticeable in the north of the region, where rock forests were largely affected. In the south, olive cultivation and other agricultural activities caused the decline of deciduous forests, as occurred in the Peloponnese.
These patterns of deforestation and pollution were not unique to the Aegean Sea, but also occurred in other areas of the Mediterranean, such as Asia Minor and the Levant, causing the environmental impacts of ancient civilizations to be widely publicized.
Lead pollution in the Aegean Sea: a growing impact
Initially, lead pollution was localized, restricted to areas near mining centers. However, as ancient societies expanded, this pollution became limited.
The increase in the environmental footprint was especially evident during the transition from the Hellenistic to the Roman period, when lead pollution also began to be recorded in marine sediments.
This suggests that pollution was being carried by rivers and atmospheric currents, reaching the Aegean Sea itself.
Koutsodendris points out that evidence of lead pollution in the Aegean Sea is probably the oldest ever recorded in a marine environment.
Furthermore, the study contains three distinct pollution peaks, occurring during periods of intense mining activity. These peaks were followed by brief declines, likely due to factors such as uncertainty and political instability.
The findings were published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
