The Romans Used Way Too Much Lead
We now know that lead should be avoided. It once was used in children’s toys, but not anymore, and it is no longer used in paint like it used to be. In ancient Rome, however, people were ignorant of what we know of lead’s downside. So they widely used it in ways that modern science has shown to be quite dangerous. For example, lead was commonly used in Roman hair dyes. Rich Romans also used lead pipes to carry water to their homes, and it is theorized that those pipes caused widespread lead poisoning. That might explain why so many Roman rulers were nutjobs.
However, it is possible that lead levels from Roman pipes might not have been as hazardous as previously thought. Nonetheless, Romans were still exposed to lead in a other ways that ensured they ingested it at exceptionally high levels. Their cooking pots were 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. Those amphorae were sealed with lead, so its 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. Lead was also used in jewelry, to keep precious stones in place.
