Lead in the Bones of Cows from a Medieval Pb-Ag Metallurgical Settlement: Bone Mineralization by Metalliferous Minerals

Pb contents (13-53 mg kg−1) and pathological changes in almost complete cow skeletonsdiscovered in graves adjacent to Pb and Ag smelting furnaces active in the Silesian-Cracovian region, in the mid-12th century are reported in the article. In addition to Pb,elements such as Zn, Cd, Fe, Mn, Cd, and Ba characteristic of Zn-Pb-Ag ores in the regionwere identified. Bone fragments and the soil in which they had lain for almost 800 yearswere examined by SEM, EDS. XRD was used to identify minerals present in soils. Theenrichment of the bones with Zn, Pb, Fe, Mn, and Cd is associated with the remobilisationof elements from soil contaminated with primary and synthetic phase-rich metals. In bioticmat…