Londinium Romans’ blood lead levels so high they may have lowered birth rates

An image showing Roman London during the time of Hadrian

Source: © Museum of London/Heritage Images/Science Photo Library

Heavy metal’s levels were more than 70 times higher than pre-Roman populations

A team of archaeologists and health scientists has found that lead poisoning could have afflicted city dwellers in Londinium, the Roman settlement on the site of modern London, during the Roman occupation of ancient Britain.1 The levels they found in Roman bones were so high that they would have exceeded limits considered toxic.