Roman Empire's lead pollution was high enough to lower IQs, study says

To get the silver out of the ore, you have to crush it. It's a dusty business - and this dust contained a lot of lead.

The concentrations were high enough to cause cognitive decline, especially in children.

The findings would make the roughly 200-year span of Rome's golden age known as Pax Romana one of the earliest examples of industrial pollution harming human health at scale.

Ancient texts and archaeological evidence indicate substantial lead exposure during antiquity that potentially impacted human health.

Read at Washington Post