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The scientific journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research publishes the results of the research carried out in the current Ensanche de Cartagena

Subsoil contamination by heavy metals in the Ensanche area of ​​Cartagena began long before Roman times.

This is one of the conclusions reached by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Murcia, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, the Archaeological Museum of Cartagena and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

The project, funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, has been attended by José Ignacio Manteca, a professor emeritus at the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT), who specializes in mineral deposits and in the mining history of the Sierra de Cartagena.

The project, called 'Carthago-Nova.

Topography and Urbanism of a privileged Mediterranean city ', led by Dr. Sebastián Ramallo Asensio of the University of Murcia, discovers, among many other issues, that the origin of the contamination of soils by heavy metals in the environment of Cartagena goes back to 4,500 years ago, a result that contrasts with the existing belief that the origin of this type of pollution coincided with the founding of the port city some 3,000 years ago.

"We have found that the contamination of heavy metals is much older than previously believed," said Professor Ignacio Manteca. "Until now we thought that it had a boom with the mining activity of the Romans, but no, the origin is very old."

For more than a year researchers have studied the environment of Ensanche-Almarjal, a lagoon that for centuries occupied the area north of the old town.

In this sense, and through the technique of Carbon 14, have established that the old lagoon El Almarjal was formed about 8,400 years ago.

"The sediments of this lagoon, which we have recognized by means of soundings, are like a large archive where the changes in the environmental conditions of the area have been recorded over thousands of years."

According to this researcher, the contents of metals vary with the age of the sediments.

Prior to 4,500 years the lagoon's sediments have "low values" of metals, and it is from the 4,500 years of antiquity when "there are strong increases that indicate that there was already a mining-metallurgical industrial activity, although of a discontinuous character ".

Subsequent to 3,550 years of age, this industrial activity became more continuous and produced a higher pollution, with sediment values ​​in the order of 2,000 ppm (parts per million) of lead and even higher, continuing until the end of the Roman age.

The points in which they found more contamination were in the edges of the lagoon next to the city, and concretely in front of the mouth of the small ramblas that drained the old city.

One of these ramblas ended between Mount Sacro and El Molinete, and another between the Cerro del Molinete and La Concepción.

This shows that some polluting metallurgical industries had to be in the city itself;

Which suggests that its inhabitants should probably have serious health problems. "

The researchers have also compared the results of their project with a very similar one carried out in Huelva, at the mouth of the Tinto and Odiel rivers.

"In the area of ​​Huelva mining activity also began 4,500 years ago, this confirms our conclusions about mining Cartagena, probably communities that went from one place to another, between the Rio Tinto and Cartagena sites," adds Manteca .

Source: UPCT