title: Identifying the sources and timing of ancient and medieval atmospheric lead pollution in England using a peat profile from Lindow bog, Manchester.
abstract: A peat core from Lindow bog near Manchester, England, was precisely cut into 2 cm slices to provide a high-resolution reconstruction of atmospheric Pb deposition. Radiocarbon and (210)Pb age dates show that the peat core represents the period ca. 2000 BC to AD 1800. Eleven radiocarbon age dates of bulk peat samples reveal a linear age-depth relationship with an average temporal resolution of 18.5 years per cm, or 37 years per sample. Using the Pb/Ti ratio to calculate the rates of anthropogenic, atmospheric Pb deposition, the profile reveals Pb contamination first appearing in peat samples dating from ca. 900 BC which clearly pre-date Roman mining activities. Using TIMS, MC-ICP-MS, and SF-ICP-MS to measure the isotopic composition of Pb, the (208)Pb/(206)Pb and (206)Pb/(207)Pb data indicate that English ores were the predominant sources during the pre-Roman, Roman, and Medieval Periods. The study shows that detailed studies of peat profiles from ombrotrophic bogs, using appropriate preparatory and analytical methods, can provide new insight into the timing, intensity, and predominant sources of atmospheric Pb contamination, even in samples dating from ancient times.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Geochemistry, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 236, 69120, Germany. gleroux@ugc.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Gaël
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Le Roux
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grattan
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Givelet
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krachler
authors.forename: Andriy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cheburkin
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rausch
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kober
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shotyk
mesh_terms: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000266:history; D004739:England; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D049690:History, Ancient; D049692:History, Early Modern 1451-1600; D049691:History, Medieval; D049711:History, Modern 1601-; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis*; D007856:Lead Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D007856:Lead Radioisotopes; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D007854:Lead