New hypothesis about the cause of the Roman empire collapsed

According to new research by Danish scientists, antimony and lead poisoning could be the cause of the Roman Empire's destruction.

Danish researchers found toxic levels of antimony in a water pipe at Pompeii, the ancient Roman town buried after the catastrophic eruption of volcanic Vesuvius in 79. These toxic water pipes may contribute to residents at that time in poor health, IB Times reported on August 18.

In addition to traces of antimony, these pipes are also made of lead - a very toxic heavy metal. Many historians have argued that the widespread use of lead caused the Roman empire to perish.

The Roman Empire could perish due to antimony poisoning.(Photo: Wikimedia Commons).

"The Greeks knew lead was very toxic, but somehow this knowledge was lost in Roman times. The Romans certainly did not do so if they knew it was poisonous," the study author, Kaare Lund at the University of Southern Denmark. "They use lead to make water pipes, sweeten wine, fill small holes in water bridges. The Romans use a lot of lead."

However, Lund and his colleagues proposed a new hypothesis to replace the lead poisoning hypothesis to explain the collapse of this empire.

Normally, lead pipes will be covered with lime residue, which helps to prevent lead from seeping into the water. Meanwhile, antimony is much more toxic than lead. Only a very small amount of this substance is absorbed into drinking water will also cause serious health problems.

Antimony causes gastrointestinal irritation, leading to vomiting and diarrhea. It also causes liver and kidney damage and if the dose is high enough, it can cause cardiac arrest.

The team's analysis performed on a piece of plumbing taken from Pompeii shows that antimony levels are highly toxic. In the lead ore that the Romans exploit may also contain large amounts of this substance.

Sample of water pipes containing antimony obtained from Pompeii.(Photo: Toxicology Letters).

The certainty of the new hypothesis depends on how popular this type of lead and antimony is in Roman times. For closer inspection, the team will need to analyze Roman lead water plumbing samples from other sources.

However, this is not an easy task. Roman cultural heritage in Italy is strictly protected. Water pipe sampling is an act of infringement and destroys a very small amount of metal, about 40mg, of the monument.

"When analyzing cultural artifacts, you will try to limit it as much as possible to leave as much legacy as possible for the future. Therefore, we may further analyze with other samples in the future. hybrid, but it certainly takes time to get permission to conduct research , ' Lund said.