Did the Roman Empire Really Fall Because of Lead in the Water?
Ever since Neil DeGrasse Tyson mentioned the "lead in the water"
theory of why Rome fell on Cosmos, scientists and historians
have been tearing up the internet to explain all the problems
with this idea.  Tyson described the way Romans preferred to use
lead pipes for their drinking water, as well as other eating and
drinking vessels. He noted that "many historians" think the
Romans' plumbing habits could have lead to "a mass poisoning on
an unprecedented scale" that precipitated the great Empire's
decline.  A paper published in Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences a few days before the Cosmos episode aired
confirmed one part of Tyson's statement. Researchers conducted
careful analysis of sediment cores from a harbor that once held
ancient Rome's water runoff. What they discovered was that yes,
the Romans were likely drinking water that had "100 times more
lead than local spring waters."  Would that have constituted a
"mass poisoning"?