Exposure to lead from mining probably lowered I.Q. levels in the empire, research has found. It might be the world’s first ...

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 ...

Scientists are exploring the role of lead pollution in the decline of the Roman Empire, proposing that chronic lead exposure ...

Some have even argued that lead poisoning played a role in the downfall of the Roman empire. Most of those arguments have focused on ancient writings and archeology that provide hints about lead’s ...

The study also could add fuel to a fraught and long-standing debate about whether mass lead poisoning could have contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. “Ancient texts and archaeological ...

Did lead poisoning contribute to the fall of the Roman Empire? It’s a question historians have long debated, since the Romans sweetened their wine with lead acetate and sipped tap water that ...

Arctic ice cores uncover how Roman lead pollution led to widespread IQ declines over 2,000 years ago, revealing impacts on ...

Atmospheric lead pollution likely caused cognitive decline among citizens of the Roman Empire, according to research ... Unlike the 20th century, when lead poisoning was primarily due to exposure ...

Widespread lead pollution from the Roman Empire's metals industry caused a cognitive decline across Europe, with researchers estimating a 2- to 3-point drop in IQ due to lead exposure, a recent ...

Atmospheric lead pollution likely caused cognitive decline among citizens of the Roman Empire, according to research published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.