Lead Isotopic Evidence for a Mixed Provenance for Roman Water Pipes From Pompeii*

Boni, Maria; Maio, Giovanni Di; Frei, Robert; Villa, Igor M.

doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2000.tb00876.x

Cited by 47 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Whether β derives from a single provenance or a mix of different Pb ores is not clear, but the rather tight clustering around the mixing arrays argues for a stable source. The imported component β of the pre-AD 79 Neapolis harbor leachates is very similar to the average of the pre-AD 79 Pompeii fistulae analyzed by Boni et al (23). The names of Campanian elite families dominate lead ingots from Cartagena from the second century BC to the first century AD (30).…”

Section: Ce (supporting

confidence: 63%

A lead isotope perspective on urban development in ancient Naples

Delile

Keenan‐Jones

Blichert‐Toft

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The influence of a sophisticated water distribution system on urban development in Roman times is tested against the impact of Vesuvius volcanic activity, in particular the great eruption of AD 79, on all of the ancient cities of the Bay of Naples (Neapolis). Written accounts on urbanization outside of Rome are scarce and the archaeological record sketchy, especially during the tumultuous fifth and sixth centuries AD when Neapolis became the dominant city in the region. Here we show that isotopic ratios of lead measured on a well-dated sedimentary sequence from Neapolis' harbor covering the first six centuries CE have recorded how the AD 79 eruption was followed by a complete overhaul of Neapolis' water supply network. The Pb isotopic signatures of the sediments further reveal that the previously steady growth of Neapolis' water distribution system ceased during the collapse of the fifth century AD, although vital repairs to this critical infrastructure were still carried out in the aftermath of invasions and volcanic eruptions.AD 79 Somma-Vesuvius eruption | Pb isotopes | harbor geoarchaeology | Neapolis | paleo-pollution U rban centers have always been critically dependent on a stable water supply, and ancient cities relying on masonry aqueducts were particularly vulnerable to the disruption of their water distribution system by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions (1). The archaeological record of the major eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 and its effect on the water supply of Naples, then known as Neapolis, and its neighboring cities illustrates well how efficiently the Roman world was able to mitigate the effects of major disasters on the daily life of its population. Neapolis: Water Supply and VolcanismNeapolis and the surrounding region were supplied with water from the Aqua Augusta or Serino aqueduct, built during the reign of Augustus between 27 BC and AD 10 (2, 3). The Augusta was a regional network supplying eight or nine cities, as well as numerous villas, through multiple branches (Fig. 1A): Nola, possibly Pompeii, Acerrae, Atella, Neapolis, Puteoli, Cumae, Baiae, and Misenum (2, 4). The total length of the aqueduct, including its branches, was ∼140 km. The construction of this monumental hydraulic network helped meet a need to secure the water supply for the strategic region of Campania during a critical period: the establishment of the Principate (2). The aim of the Augusta was to provide water to naval harbors (first Portus Iulius and later Misenum) and the commercial harbor of Puteoli, one of the busiest centers of trade in the Roman Empire (5), as well as to cities, coloniae, and villas of influential individuals. At an unknown time between the fifth century BC and the Middle Ages, the Bolla aqueduct (Fig. 1A) was constructed to bring additional water to Neapolis (3).One of the challenges in maintaining the Augusta and, with it, the integrity of the water supply of the heavily settled area around Neapolis, was counteracting the slow movements of the ground associated with the activity of volcanic sy...

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Section: Ce (supporting

confidence: 63%

A lead isotope perspective on urban development in ancient Naples

Delile

Keenan‐Jones

Blichert‐Toft

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…However, it can not be denied that each single analysis for the BzA1 artefacts is also compatible with numerous mineral data from across Europe and Anatolia, even more so if we consider the possibility of the mixing of ores and recycling of metal of different provenances. A pattern of under-constrained signatures due to mixing was described for Imperial Roman lead and obscured the identification of the sources (Boni et al 2000). However, we must note that industrial mining and trading was likely much more developed in Imperial Roman times than at the end of the third millennium BC.…”

Section: Evidence Of Circulation Network During the Beginning Of Thementioning

confidence: 96%

Provenance of Early Bronze Age metal artefacts in Western Switzerland using elemental and lead isotopic compositions and their possible relation with copper minerals of the nearby Valais

Cattin

Guénette-Beck

Curdy³

et al. 2011

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Ten Early Bronze Age (BzA1, 2200-2000 BC) copper artefacts from the central Valais region from Switzerland were studied for their elemental composition and lead isotope ratios. In order to answer the archaeological question of a local copper supply, a database for copper minerals across the Valais (Switzerland) has been established. This database contains 69 data on lead isotope ratios as well as additional information on the minerals and geochemical associations for copper minerals from 38 locations in the Valais. Comparisons of the artefacts were also made with data pertaining to minerals from various deposits from Europe and Anatolia taken from the literature. The provenance of the materials is very diverse. Some of the data are compatible with the data from the copper mineral deposits of the Valais region. Moreover, three copper lunulae were identified as possibly Tuscan, which demonstrates contacts between Italy and the Valais region. This pattern also establishes a multiplicity of provenances for the metal and cultural influences in the Alpine environment of the Rhone Valley of Switzerland at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age.

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“…However, mixing of raw material and recycling of metal has been intensively discussed for antique metal objects (Grögler et al 1966;Boni et al 2000). This may mean, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Lead isotope analyses on Late Republican sling bullets

Müller

Brey

Seitz

et al. 2014

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Forty-two lead objects (mainly sling bullets) from archaeological sites in Spain and Italy, dating into the late Roman Republican period, two ore samples from Portman (Cartagena region) and one further ore sample from a deposit on Ibiza were analysed for their lead isotope ratios by multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC ICP-MS). The objective of the present study was to answer questions, which cannot be solved by conventional archaeological methods alone but require further information on the materials composition. For this, MC ICP-MS as a modern and fast analytical method to obtain both chemical and isotopic information paired with very low material consumption is a helpful analytical tool to answer archaeological and technological considerations and questions like (a) on the origin of the raw metals used for the objects, (b) if individual production sites used more than one metal source and (c) if certain metal mining areas were preferred during particular periods in time. The results of this study, which were obtained by combining lead isotope analysis with common archaeological methods, clearly demonstrate that Late Republican sling bullets and some other lead objects of other usage from Menorca originate from ore minerals that were predominantly mined on the Iberian mainland. Mixing relationships also show that a number of them were manufactured from reprocessed material. This is also true for single Italian lead sling bullets. Additionally, some of the objects have lead isotope signatures interpreted as mixing relationships, which point towards a manufacturing from reprocessed material.

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Lead Isotopic Evidence for a Mixed Provenance for Roman Water Pipes From Pompeii*

Cited by 47 publications

References 10 publications

A lead isotope perspective on urban development in ancient Naples

A lead isotope perspective on urban development in ancient Naples

Provenance of Early Bronze Age metal artefacts in Western Switzerland using elemental and lead isotopic compositions and their possible relation with copper minerals of the nearby Valais

Lead isotope analyses on Late Republican sling bullets

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