Roman-era alluvial waste in the Vistre de la Fontaine (Nîmes, southeast France): from a sacred spring to a contaminated river
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5 juin 2023
- ISIDORE Id: 10670/1.3c9669...
- hal: hal-04138353
- doi: 10.1017/S1047759423000132
- IRD: PAR00026228
- WOS: 001007761200001
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info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1017/S1047759423000132
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
Mots-clés
Geoarchaeology lead isotopes palaeopollution waste Early Roman Empire Geoarchaeology lead isotopes palaeopollution waste Early Roman EmpireSujets proches
Geological archaeology Archaeogeology Geoarchaeology Southeast France Sud-est (France) Southeastern France France, Southeastern RadioisotopesCiter ce document
Clément Flaux et al., « Roman-era alluvial waste in the Vistre de la Fontaine (Nîmes, southeast France): from a sacred spring to a contaminated river », HALSHS : archive ouverte en Sciences de l’Homme et de la Société, ID : 10.1017/S1047759423000132
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Résumé
The excavation of a palaeochannel at the Vistre de la Fontaine 2-2 archaeological site, 3 km downstream from the ancient city of Nîmes (southeastern France), provided an accumulation sequence covering the last 2,500 years. Trace metal analyses of these alluvial sediments disclosed lead (Pb) contamination during the Early Roman Empire, with concentrations close to 1,000 ppm, a factor of 100 above the local geochemical background. This excess of Pb shows a uniform isotopic signature that may reflect unchanged ore sources, perhaps from the Massif Central or from Great Britain. The Pb peak accompanied visible waste that was transported in the sediments of the Vistre de la Fontaine at the time of the development of the Nîmes urban water supply and drainage network during the Early Roman Empire. This research shows the bimillennial persistence of palaeo-contamination in a peri-urban alluvial plain and the relevance of fluvial sedimentary archives in documenting ancient waste.
