Water consumption in Iron Age, Roman, and Early Medieval Croatia.

Patterns of water consumption by past human populations are rarely considered, yet drinking behavior is socially mediated and access to water sources is often socially controlled. Oxygen isotope analysis of archeological human remains is commonly used to identify migrants in the archeological record, but it can also be used to consider water itself, as this technique documents water consumption rather than migration directly. Here, we report an oxygen isotope study of humans and animals from coastal regions of Croatia in the Iron Age, Roman, and Early Medieval periods. The results show that while faunal values have little diachronic variation, the human data vary through time, and there are wide ranges of values within each period. Our interpretation is that this is not solely a result of mobility, but that human behavior can and did lead to human oxygen isotope ratios that are different from that expected from consumption of local precipitation.

Lead in ancient Rome's city waters.

It is now universally accepted that utilization of lead for domestic purposes and water distribution presents a major health hazard. The ancient Roman world was unaware of these risks. How far the gigantic network of lead pipes used in ancient Rome compromised public health in the city is unknown. Lead isotopes in sediments from the harbor of Imperial Rome register the presence of a strong anthropogenic component during the beginning of the Common Era and the Early Middle Ages. They demonstrate that the lead pipes of the water distribution system increased Pb contents in drinking water of the capital city by up to two orders of magnitude over the natural background. The Pb isotope record shows that the discontinuities in the pollution of the Tiber by lead are intimately entwined with the major issues affecting Late Antique Rome and its water distribution system.

Isotopic composition and identification of the origins of individuals buried in a Neolithic collective grave at Bronocice (southern Poland).

The oxygen present in a human organism comes from numerous sources, but the major factor that causes variation in the isotopic composition of this element in a tissue is available drinking water. The isotopic ratio of oxygen in an organism's tissue, including that found in bones and teeth, reflects the isotopic oxygen composition typical for the area where a given individual developed and lived. Of particular interest with regard to this issue were a series of skeletons from the multiple grave discovered at the Funnel Beaker-Baden settlement at Bronocice (southern Poland). The question therefore arose whether the specimens buried in this grave were part of the local community. The oxygen isotope level was established using apatite isolated from bones or teeth. A femur and root dentine samples taken from permanent teeth were subjected to oxygen isotope analysis. The oxygen isotope level of the site was established on the basis of local water precipitation and measurements taken from the oxygen isotope concentration in apatite samples isolated from the bones of animals co-occurring with the studied human group. It has been found that the oxygen isotope levels in the bones and dentine of almost all the analysed specimens from the excavated site at Bronocice were within the established range for the area's environment, providing evidence for their local origin. Thus, it can be assumed that the analysed group inhabiting the macrosettlement at Bronocice during the Funnel Beaker phase of the Baden culture was most probably of local origin.

Geomorphological evolution and environmental reclamation of Fusaro Lagoon (Campania Province, southern Italy).

Analysis of morphological, geological and environmental characteristics of the Fusaro Lagoon has shown the present degraded condition of the lagoon and the perilagoon area. The lagoon developed during the mid-Holocene within a wide marine bay confined between the coastal volcanic structures of Mt. Cuma to the north and Torregaveta to the south in the western part of the Phlegrean Fields. Subsequently, the bay was gradually filled with pyroclastic materials from phlegrean eruptive vents and sediments carried by the rivers Volturno and Clanis, thus, creating an open lagoon. It then evolved into a partially closed lagoon due to the formation of a continuous littoral spit during the late Holocene, probably wider than the present-day one and surrounded by marshlands. Finally, the total closure of the lagoon took place in the Graeco-Roman period, following the stabilization of the dune ridge, and it assumed a shape similar to present-day one only towards the end of the 18th century. Between the Roman period and 1941, three lagoon channels were opened in order to avoid the frequent environmental crises which continue to affect, although for different reasons, this salt-water basin. The basin has been exploited for more than 2000 years not only for mollusc culture and pisciculture, but also for the maceration of hemp and flax. In the 1980s, in order to reduce the effects of the environmental crises, dredging of the lagoon bottom has been carried out, altering the hydrogeological equilibrium and that of the ecosystem. Over the past 30 years, the supply of raw sewage of domestic, agricultural and industrial origin has ensured the presence of a high concentration of pollutants, including heavy metals. On the basis of the data obtained and in order to restore this sensitive transitional environment, eco-compatible interventions are proposed which aim at morphological and hydrologic resettlement, abatement of pollutants on the bottom of the basin, reintroduction of endemic molluscs, together with monitoring the quality of sediments and both sea-lagoon waters and groundwater.

Explaining lake and catchment change using sediment derived and written histories: an Australian perspective.

Palaeolimnological records can be powerfully combined with documentary data to explain the impact of modern industry and agriculture on lake systems and their catchments. Such an approach is highly appropriate in Australia since modern society was imposed on a continent until recently populated solely by hunter-gatherers and because there is a wealth of historical data to draw upon. Confounding factors such as the influence of climate change, depopulation of the indigenous community and non-linear responses to human impact must be considered in analysis of the relative importance of various land use changes upon lake pollution.

From sewage water treatment to wastewater reuse. One century of Paris sewage farms history.

The irrigation fields of Paris have been used for 100 years. Their soils mainly contain heavy metals in the topmost layer. Metals come from raw sewage as well as from digested sludge of biological treatment plants which have been diluted for years in raw water. Vegetables that are cultivated in the irrigation fields concentrate metals but their average contents, however, are lower than the recommended limit values. Some vegetables concentrate more specifically one type of metal. Corn seeds accumulate less metal than green vegetables. The SIAAP keeps operating irrigation fields by delivering clariflocculated water with a low metal content from the new Seine Centre plant, with the purpose of keeping some 2,000 ha of green zone in an otherwise heavily constructed area and to prevent a metal release from the soil should irrigation be interrupted. Maintaining irrigation fields also relieves the biological treatment plant and then contributes to preserve the quality of the Seine river, especially in summer.

[Water and public health during antiquity]. / Veden kansanterveydellinen merkitys antikin aikana.

"Thales of Miletus, one of the Seven Wise Men, affirmed that the principle of all things is water; ..." The importance of water for people's health was a widely held opinion of ancient writers. The purpose of the present study was to examine: 1) ideas of the salubrity of water, 2) the organization of water supply in towns, 3) the role of water in agriculture and transport, and 4) the influence of water on public health during antiquity. The written sources indicate that ideas of the salubrity of water are connected with the general scientific level of the society. The quality of water was examined using the senses; taste, smell, appearance and temperature. In addition the health of people and animals using a water source was examined. Tasty, cool, odorless and colourless water was considered best. Stagnant, marshy water was avoided. Settling tanks, sieves, filters and boiling of water were methods used to improve the quality of water during antiquity. The available sources do not permit estimation of the effect of these methods on public health. The relatively extensive urbanization during antiquity may be attributable to the importance dedicated to the transportation of sufficient amounts of water of good quality to the towns, Baths were probably beneficial for public health in towns where an abundance of water was available. In towns where water was scarce the role of baths was probably negative for public health....

[The use of water as indication of the presence of life: technical ways of employment in the archaelogical documentation]. / L'acqua come segno di vita: modi e tecniche di utilizzo nel mondo romano alla luce della documentazione archeologica.

Ancient urbanization often is strictly connected with rivers and sources. In the ancient world, the usage of water is also linked with the idea of sacrum and with specific religious cults (i.e. the King's Numa mith or the legend of the nymph Egeria). A complex technique of rain water preservation has been elaborated in Rome by building structures of water supplying: the exemples of Segni's colony and Ventotene's imperial island are here examined. Due to the general absence of water supply directly in the houses, public fountains were largely present in the public ways.

The water supply of Rome.

The water delivery system developed by the Romans stands as a monument to the engineering ability of that city-state's water commissioners. This is an article about that system and, in particular, one of its ablest administrators--Frontinus.