Emi Clarke
Honestly, lead probably doesn’t need to be defended in the same way pigeons do, but I do think the research of it does. The tragedy of lead is that if you try to look up something like “use of lead in Hellenistic Cyprus”, what you will likely find is a bounty of papers using lead to analyze copper in Cyprus. Although lead is incredibly valuable to archeologists as a means of locating the sources of, for lack of a better word, “fancier” metals such as gold, silver and copper through Lead Isotope Analysis, the production, trade and use of element itself is woefully under researched. Admittedly, lead had comparatively limited applications in antiquity, but it seems the least we can do for such a useful resource in modern archeology is to research it in kind.
Production
It isn’t entirely clear if the lead used to make the items found on our site was mined on Cyprus or imported from elsewhere. There is some evidence to support either possibility, though the latter seems more likely. Historically, lead has been most commonly produced as a byproduct of silver mining, rather than being mined for specifically. Cyprus was mainly mined for copper, which is abundant around the Troodos mountain range in the Pillow Lava formations. Some even suggest Cyprus was named for its incredibly vast surface deposits of the valuable resource. Less well accounted for are vast deposits of silver on the island. There are some ancient sources, namely Pseudo-Aristotle, that suggest silver and gold mines existed in Cyprus, but recent geological surveys indicate that there wasn’t enough of either substance to warrant mining. It is more likely then that lead made its way to Cyprus through trade, perhaps from Sardinia, one of the largest producers of lead at the time.
In any case, after the lead was brought to Cyprus, manufacturing it into usable objects was relatively simple. Lead has a low melting point of 327.5 degrees Celsius, compared to copper’s 1,085 and iron’s 1,538, which means it can be melted on your average campfire. The fumes created by melting lead are of course very noxious and the effects are well documented, Pliny (yay Pliny!) even recommends that workers protect their airways during the process. After melting the lead, it could be used to make a variety of wonderful things such as:
Sling bullets
One of the uses of lead most relevant to our site is the sling bullet. Sling bullets were a type of ammunition for slings (believe it or not) used from the Iron Age through the Roman period. Although something as simple as river stones could be used for bullets, lead was preferred due to its weight and the ability to cast it into more aerodynamic shapes. Again, the low melting point of lead allowed for sling bullets to be easily poured into two part molds or even a thumbprint in some sand. Some bullets are even inscribed with names, rude phrases, or decorated.
A number of sling bullets have been found at Vigla, many inscribed with what seems to be the names of important individuals. In previous years sling bullet sprues (the little in-between parts of molds) were found, suggesting that they were being manufactured on our site!
Curse tablets
Though none have been discovered at our site so far, curse tablets are definitely one of the most interesting uses of lead. As lead is quite soft and cheap, it can be pounded into very thin sheets and written on with less effort or cost than copper or bronze. Because of this, curses seemed to be available for purchase made-to-order or even “fill in the blank” style, inscribed by some sort of presumably mystical person. Most are written in Greek and often include made up magical words (think “Abracadabra”) called Voces mysticae, which could probably be their own entire blog post. The formulaic curses invoked thematically appropriate gods from Greek and Roman traditions such as Pluto and Hecate, but often also threw in just about every other deity and spiritual entity under the sun for good measure. One of the largest caches of lead curse tablets to date was found nearby in Amathus, though you won’t find them on display in Cyprus as they were “acquired” by the British Museum in the late nineteenth century, classic.
Sweetener
“Please don’t lick the lead” -Dr. Thomas P Landvatter, Professor of Not Having Fun, Reed College
Finally, lead or copper vessels lined with lead were all the rage in Rome. Definitely not relevant to our site or Cyprus in general, but pretty funny. These vessels were used primarily to make defrutum, a syrup used to sweeten and preserve wine and other provisions by boiling grape juice. The lead in the pots when combined with acetic acid, or vinegar, creates Lead (II) Acetate, which naturally sweetens the syrup. It has been suggested that this was a significant source of lead poisoning in antiquity, along with the lead pipes favored by the Roman Empire.
While lead might not be as glamorous as other metals, it still had its uses and applications in the ancient world and deserves some merit based on that if nothing else. Maybe don’t ingest it though, it is pretty bad for you.