Local mining or lead importation in the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis? Lead isotope analysis of curse tablets from Roman Carthage, Tunisia

摘要

This study attempts to determine if there was Roman lead mining in Africa Proconsularis, approximatelythe area of modern day Tunisia, using lead isotope analysis. Another important aspect of the study is theinnovative use of electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) as a screening tool to greatly reduce the numberof expensive lead isotope analyses needed for the study. The EMPA X-ray mapping for arsenic, antimony,copper, and silver narrowed the sample of curse tablets to those most likely produced from Tunisianores; these tablets were then tested using thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) analysis. A totalof 96 Roman lead curse tablets from Carthage, Tunisia were screened with EMPA and twenty selected forTIMS to determine the ore sources of the lead used to manufacture the tablets. Comparing the leadisotope ratios of twelve of the sixteen tablets most likely to be made of Tunisian lead to samples ofTunisian ores suggests that the Romans were mining lead in Africa Proconsularis and were not relyingsolely on imports.