Lead and Barium in Archaeological Roman Skeletons Measured by Nondestructive X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis

Abstract

Lead is a non-essential toxic metal of considerable topicality. It is accumulated in the skeleton, which contains 90% of the total body burden.It is known that during the Roman period the intake of lead was high. The Romans used kitchen utensils made of lead and lead pipes for drinking water. The most important source of lead for people of the upper social classes was sapa, a compound added to wine to sweeten and perserve it.Using non-destructive X-ray fluorescence analysis, lead and barium concentrations of archaeological Roman bones have been measured. We have earlier used a similar technique to determine lead concentration in the human skeleton in vivo.