Roman Lead Ingot found

Hopefully analysis of the composition will reveal the source. A wonderful historical find.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CJ
That is fantastic. I’m curious, how did romans smelt pigs like this? Did they have a means of dealing with the fumes or was the workforce expendable?
 
I think the workforce was entirely expendable. Also, there were so many causes of premature death, singling out lead as being one of them was unlikely.

Chris.
 
ChrisJC said:
I think the workforce was entirely expendable. Also, there were so many causes of premature death, singling out lead as being one of them was unlikely.

Chris.
Click to expand...
To add to this, and at the risk of derailing things (I will create a separate thread if there’s interest in discussing this), knowledge of lead toxicity predates Romans and has been ignored throughout history when it suited. Perhaps the best and most recent example of this is tetraethyl lead.

Some interesting reading in relation to this:
 
TEL was 'invented' by Thomas Midgley Jr as an anti-knock additive to petrol (gasoline), effectively increasing its Octane Number and reducing the propensity of the fuel charge to detonate prematurely in the cylinder. This function is performed in modern unleaded fuels by the addition of methyl tert-butyl ether, which is the dominant sharp odour note in modern unleaded petrol.

In a staggering twist of fate, Midgley also pioneered the development and use of chlorofluorocarbons which, as I am sure we all know, are responsible for ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere.

Fair enough, the law of unintended consequences might be applicable for CFC's but he really should have known damn better about the tetraethyl lead!
 
  • Like
Reactions: CJ
One likely reason that the workforce was not obliterated by lead poisoning is that smelting would probably have taken place when the wind direction was favourable and that accordingly the workers had the sense to stand upwind of the fumes
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back