This is nothing new - lead from shipwrecks has been used to shield beta-counting radiocarbon instruments from cosmic rays from the early 1960's. In my opinion this should not a matter of concern. The Scientific American article says that "many" archaeologists are concerned, but the only person named in this is a graduate student.
The most pressing problem in the matter of shipwreck cargoes is how to store them. Long-term storage is extremely expensive, and I can't see that we archaeologists have any right to insist that society bear the cost of storing these indefinitely. Much better to document each ingot (photographs, weight, measures), retain a small sample for future scientific studies, and then let the physicists use the rest.
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From: Arch-Metals Group [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Ernst Pernicka [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 10:00 AM
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Subject: AW: Roman lead
We have worked with ancient Roman lead in an experiment on the solar neutrino flux (e.g. Anselmann et al. Physics Letters B285,390-397). The lead was lifted from a Roman shipwreck off the coast of Sardinia with funds from the Italian Physical Society. Only the interior of the ingots was used for physics while the outer appearance remained intact. We even provided some further information for archaeologist which they would not have obtained otherwise (Alessandrello et al. 1991: Nucl. Instr. Meth. Phys. Res. B61, 106-117). I think it was a win-win situation.
Best, Ernst
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Prof. Dr. Ernst Pernicka
Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie gGmbH
an der Universität Heidelberg
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und
Institut für Geowissenschaften
Universität Heidelberg
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-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Arch-Metals Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Im Auftrag von Bart Torbert
Gesendet: Freitag, 14. März 2014 17:35
An: [log in to unmask]
Betreff: Roman lead
Anybody got a comment on this article?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-roman-lead-melted-down-explore-frontiers-physics/
Bart Torbert
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