Flaux C. auteur aut IRD Save S. auteur aut IRD Scrinzi M. auteur aut IRD Larousse N. M. auteur aut IRD Vaschalde C. auteur aut IRD Renaud A. auteur aut IRD Tillier M. auteur aut IRD Guihou A. auteur aut IRD Deschamps Pierre auteur aut IRD Veron A. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng The excavation of a palaeochannel at the Vistre de la Fontaine 2-2 archaeological site, 3 km downstream from the ancient city of Nimes (southeastern France), provided an accumulation sequence covering the last 2,500 years. Trace metal analyses of these alluvial sediments disclosed lead (Pb) contamination during the Early Roman Empire, with concentrations close to 1,000 ppm, a factor of 100 above the local geochemical background. This excess of Pb shows a uniform isotopic signature that may reflect unchanged ore sources, perhaps from the Massif Central or from Great Britain. The Pb peak accompanied visible waste that was transported in the sediments of the Vistre de la Fontaine at the time of the development of the Nimes urban water supply and drainage network during the Early Roman Empire. This research shows the bimillennial persistence of palaeo-contamination in a peri-urban alluvial plain and the relevance of fluvial sedimentary archives in documenting ancient waste. specialized Geoarchaeology lead isotopes palaeopollution waste Early Roman Empire FRANCE 112 062 038 [Early access] PII S1047759423000132 [ ] 2023 1047-7594 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/PAR00026228 10.1017/s1047759423000132 1047-7594 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/PAR00026228 IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2023-08-25 2025-02-24 PAR00026228 fre