Researchers measured lead pollution and its impact on human health through Arctic ice-core samples. View on euronews

The new research adds context to a long-standing debate about the role lead pollution and poisoning may have played in the collapse of the Roman Empire. Some historians have argued that Roman elites and emperors who purportedly displayed odd,

Lead pollution might sound like a modern problem, but people were subjected to significant levels during antiquity, too.

Lead records from Arctic glaciers indicate that people all over Europe would have been affected by pollution from metal smelting during the Roman era

Lead pollution from Roman mining and metal production may have lowered intelligence levels across the vast Roman Empire nearly 2,000 years ago, new research suggests. Scientists from the Desert Research Institute in Nevada say their findings connect ancient industrial activities to widespread cognitive impairment.