Researchers have found the oldest known evidence of lead pollution dating to around 5,200 years ago in ancient Greece.

Studies of sediment cores from the sea floor and the coastal regions surrounding the Aegean Sea show that humans contaminated the environment with lead early on in antiquity.

Ancient Greece, renowned for its contributions to democracy and philosophy, also holds the unfortunate distinction of producing the world's earliest recorded lead pollution.

Ancient lead pollution in the Aegean Sea may have started 5,200 years ago — 1,200 years earlier than previously thought. Researchers analyzed sediment cores from land and sea, linking lead levels to historical human activity.

Lead released from smelting in ancient Greece is the world’s first toxic pollution, experts say. View on euronews