Neapolitan plumber

Neapolitan plumber(Sprinkler repair)

The major cities water supply is an essential element of the urbanization of all societies. One of the challenges was confronted Naples relates to the stabilization and resistance Aqua Augusta aqueduct to the hazards of volcanic eruptions of Vesuvius. The state of the water supply system of Pompeii, and more generally all the cities of the Bay of Naples fed by the Aqua Augusta at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD is a matter that is subject of a long debate Keenan-Jones Currently, there is no direct evidence of the destruction of the Aqua Augusta caused by this volcanic episode and / or repair. To fill these gaps and thus assess a side effect unknown to this eruption, we measured the concentrations and isotopic compositions of lead sedimentary archives of the ancient port of Naples (Fig. 1), as well as calcium carbonate concretions levied on the walls of the aqueduct pipes

Lead contamination of water by urban pipelines

The results of this study revealed the presence of high lead contamination of urban water of the city of Naples in the first six centuries AD (Pb levels are on average 3.5 times higher than those contained in the "clean" water), whose origin is attributed to the supply system of the city, composed of lead pipes (fistulae) who were themselves connected to the Aqua Augusta (Fig. 1A). Indeed, the isotopic compositions of the excess of lead trapped in port vases (green and red circles in Fig. 3A) show a similar signature to those of lead in carbonate concretions (colored squares in Fig. 3A and Fig. 2). These have set the lead transported in fresh water that previously had dissolved the metal in portions of the aqueduct Aqua Augusta and / or urban lines. These results corroborate those found in the waters of ancient Rome who were also infected with the dissolution of lead pipes (Delile et al., 2014). As the capital of the Roman Empire, the geological origin of lead ores contained in the Neapolitan lines could be drawn. The results highlight the importance of mining in Western Europe during the Roman Empire including Spain, France (south of the and the Alps), Germany  and England (sprinkler installation)

The impact of the eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79 of the water supply network

From Figure 3, the natural lead ( "residues") defines a mixing line between a volcanic component, well represented by the three samples Tuf Yellow Neapolitan, a river component of natural type which is symbolized by the two white stars. Contaminated harbor sediments ( "leachates") have two isotopic fields (ellipses) well separated whose alignment is done from a natural river level (both white stars) to an anthropogenic component ß (fistulas and travertine deposits). This latter component, which is the source of lead contamination of harbor sediments, consists of a lead imported from Hercynian massifs trained ago My ~300 years. But Italy is not made of rocks as old. Therefore, lead in the pipes (anthropogenic component ß) is imported from the provinces Variscan (Hercynian or Variscan).(California irrigation)

From this graph, one of the most significant findings of the study show that this vast water supply system of the city and the Bay of Naples was destroyed in the eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79, and was the subject of widespread repairs to restore activity. Indeed, two isotopic compositions of lead differ in harbor sediments; the first is prior to the natural disaster (green squares in Fig. 3B), while the second is posterior (orange square in Fig. 3B). This change of signature of lead in sediments occurred fifteen years after the volcanic eruption, suggesting that replacement of water supply system "pre-eruptive" took place during a relatively short time. Nevertheless, the scale of a human life, this time had to be viewed differently since he has probably forced the contemporary Pliny the Younger to supply fresh water in the same way that Greek settlers five centuries earlier, that is to say by the tanks of the Neapolitan basement.