Lead water pipes
Some of the houses in Herculaneum had running water, and here we can see some of the plumbing, lead pipes. The people didn't apparently suffer from lead poisoning because the volcanic origin of the local water meant it contained salts that coated the interior of the pipes, and stopped the lead getting into the water! n.b. Not sure I believe this as research suggests that the bodies found in the boat houses appeared to be in general good health although several were suffering from advanced stages of lead poisoning. This could be attributed to the consumption of cheap wine sweetened by syrup boiled in lead pots. |
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