The extraordinary value of ancient lead

Many people have dreamt since childhood of finding treasure sunken in the depths of the sea. Usually in such cases gold, precious stones, magnificent, inlaid weapons or works of art come to mind. However, as it turns out, even bars of ancient lead can be of inestimable value to some.

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About 100 bars of lead extracted from an ancient Roman shipwreck near Sardinia were used to build the CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events). The device was built at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy and is designed to detect elementary particles (neutrinos).

In turn, lead bars extracted by treasure hunters from an 18th century shipwreck off the coast of France were sold to CDMS (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) and used to create a dark matter detector located in Minnesota, USA.

In both cases, the scientists who started using lead were delighted with its properties. It turned out that it was ideal for their research. At this point, however, a dispute arose with representatives of archaeology, who look with concern at the destruction of cultural heritage in the name of scientific development.

Lead extracted from wrecks is so valuable to scientists because of its purity and its extremely low level of radioactivity, which is already unprecedented today. With current production methods it is not possible to obtain a product with the properties so desired by scientists. Due to its contamination with the isotope Pb-210, it cannot be used as a shielding in particle detectors.

Fortunately, as is usually the case in academia, the two communities have engaged in discourse with each other in order to reach a solution that satisfies both sides and lays the legal foundations for future action.

Source: redorbit.com,
Photo: Jose A. Moya – UA