Researchers trace rise, fall of Roman Empire through ice

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The rise and fall of the Roman Empire isn't just recorded in history books.

Scientists from the Desert Research Institute in Nevada have pioneered a way to pinpoint pivotal moments in Western civilization using ancient lead pollution trapped deep inside the Greenland ice sheet.

A new ice core study by DRI and partners in Great Britain, Norway and Denmark charts the ebb and flow of economic activity over 1,900 years of war, plague, imperial expansion and collapse. The research provides new insight and challenges some ideas about how early European societies fared over time.

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