Random Roman Aristocrats Poisoned Themselves With Artificial Sweeten (14 items)

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  (#11) Pliny The Elder Wrote A Recipe For Sapa That You Can Still Use Today

  Pliny the Elder detailed how to make sapa in the 1st century CE. "Sapa is a product of art, not of nature," Pliny began, "made by boiling down [grape] must to a third of its quantity." Sapa was different from defrutum, Pliny explained, in that sapa was more concentrated. Defrutum was grape juice boiled to one half its volume.

  The reduction made sapa much sweeter than grape juice. And the Romans knew that boiling it in lead pots increased the sweetness. While the simple Roman recipe still works to create sapa, today we know not to boil the syrup in lead pots. Sapa, on its own, is safe to consume; it only becomes toxic when it's heated in a lead vessel.
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  (#14) Scholars Debate Whether Lead Exposure Caused Rome's Ruin

  With the widespread use of sapa in ancient Rome, it's not a stretch to assume lead contamination was a major problem. But did exposure to the heavy metal contribute to the fall of the Roman Empire? Jerome Nriagu introduced this theory for Rome's decline in the 1980s. Scholars quickly pushed back. Historian John Scarborough called the hypothesis a myth, claiming Romans knew lead was harmful. Nriagu shot back, "Scarborough knows nothing, absolutely nothing, about lead poisoning. Absolutely zero."

  However, since sapa was used for centuries before Rome's fall, even during the golden age of the empire's expansion, it's difficult to claim lead exposure was the primary source of Rome's decline. More recently, Hugo Delile, a researcher examining lead levels in ancient Rome's drinking water, says, "Lead is no longer seen as the prime culprit of Rome’s demise."

  Nevertheless, centuries of consuming lead-tainted artificial sweeteners certainly didn't help Rome.
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  (#6) Romans Intentionally Used Lead Pots For A Sweeter Flavor

  Roman winemakers specifically chose lead vessels to make sapa because the end product was sweeter. A winemaker named Columella said lead pots were better than brass because "in the boiling... [brass] vessels throw off copper rust which has a disagreeable flavor."

  Ironically, lead pots made sweeter sapa because of lead acetate, the noxious compound with a sweet taste. When Romans boiled grapes in lead containers, an acid in the wine bonded with the lead to create the compound. 
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  (#9) Emperor Claudius Had Tremors And 'Often Slobbered'

  The Roman emperor Claudius came to power when his nephew Caligula perished at the hands of his enemies in 37 CE. According to history, Claudius hid behind a curtain during the incident. Once he became emperor, Claudius faced numerous uprisings during his rule. He may have also had lead exposure.

  Researcher Jerome Nriagu explains, "He had disturbed speech, weak limbs, an ungainly gait, tremor, fits of excessive and inappropriate laughter and unseemly anger, and he often slobbered."

  The descriptions of Claudius as "dull-witted and absent-minded" could be a sign of the aristocracy's general dislike of the emperor - or evidence of lead exposure.
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  (#12) Sapa Wasn't The Only Source Of Lead Contamination In Ancient Rome

  Sapa wasn't the only source of lead contamination in ancient Rome. Romans also drank water funneled through lead pipes. The water system in Rome transported spring water across the empire, using aqueducts and lead pipes.

  Those pipes also transferred led into the water, exposing ancient Romans to dangerous amounts of the heavy metal. 
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  (#2) Romans Preserved Wine With The Toxic Sweetener

  Sapa was used for more than sweetening foods. It was also used extensively in the wine industry. Romans preserved wine with sapa, incidentally infusing the drink with lead. The Romans had a reputation for drinking - the average Roman drank a liter of wine each day. That's around 100 gallons of wine each year. 

  And elite Romans drank even more heavily. The Roman emperor Elgabalus was rumored to drink wine from a swimming pool. 

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