[breischl]

They also mined by tearing apart mountains, and threw noticeable amounts of lead into the air doing it.

> Roman-era mining activities increased atmospheric lead concentrations by at least a factor of 10, polluting air over Europe more heavily and for longer than previously thought, according to a new analysis of ice cores taken from glaciers on France's Mont Blanc.

A lot less than modern technology manages, but a lot more than nothing. And that with a much smaller population.

https://phys.org/news/2019-05-roman-polluted-european-air-he... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruina_montium