The ancient Greeks were the first to contaminate leading oceans

The land was not so pristine before the industrial era. The ancient Egyptians contaminated the environment with lead about 5,200 years, long before what was previously believed, according to studies of sediment of the seabed and the coastal regions of the Aegean Sea. The results, combined with pollen analysis of the sediment nuclei, also offer information on socioeconomic change in the Aegean and reflect historical events such as the conquest of Greece by the Romans.

The Aegean region was the place of origin of some of the first cultures of ancient Europe. A team led by geocientifics of the University of Heidelberg (Germany) investigated when and to what extent the first human activities in the region affected both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. To do this, the team analyzed 14 sediment cores of the Aegean Sea Fund and the surrounding coast included during the expeditions of the ‘Meteor’ and ‘Aegaeeo’ research ships between 2001 and 2021.

Silver production

As the researchers explain in the magazine ‘Communications Earth & Environment’, A nucleus of a peat offered the oldest known evidence of leading environmental pollution. The researchers dated this lead signal in approximately 5,200 years ago, about 1,200 years before the oldest known evidence of environmental pollution with heavy metal that can be attributed to human activity.

“Give Earth Sciences of the University of Heidelberg.

The sediment nuclei analyzed by Heidelberg scientists contained lead and pollen, which allowed them to reconstruct the development of vegetation in the Aegean region. The pollen content indicated how the earth was used. “Combined data on lead pollution and the development of vegetation shows when the transition from agricultural societies to monetary societies and how it affected the environment,” he emphasizes Jörg prosssalso from Heidelberg.

About 2,150 years ago, lead concentration increased considerably, accompanied by intense deforestation and an increase in agricultural use, as indicated by the composition of the policy spectrum. From then on, lead pollution is also evident in the sediments of the Aegean Sea Fund, the oldest worldwide registration of lead pollution of human origin in the ocean, highlights co -author Andreas Koutsodendris. “The changes coincide with the conquest of Hellenistic Greece by the Romans, who subsequently appropriated the richness of the resources of the region,” adds archaeologist Joseph Maran. The Roman conquerors thus promoted gold, silver and other metals mining, and for the extraction and smelting of minerals, wood was also needed.