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Abstract
"2 Any theory that fails to take into account more than four centuries of successful defense of the West and to explain the survival of the eastern part of the Empire for another thousand years is automatically invalidated.3, 4 Even if one confines oneself to an explanation of why the Roman government lost control of the western provinces in the fifth century (many of which were recovered under Justinian in the sixth), the theory of lead poisoning, based on incomplete data and a spotty knowledge of eating and drinking habits and food preparation, is unsatisfactory. Since the Roman Empire showed no signs of weakness until the latter half of the second century A.D., Dr. Nriagu's criticism of emperors before that time loses its force. The detailed discussion of the role of lead poisoning in the decline of Rome has been published elsewhere.* Had Mr. Gaebel bothered to read this material, many of his comments would have been unnecessary, perhaps. Even though lead poisoning existed in the Republican period, it became rampant with the introduction of a truly Roman culinary art and imperial dining style during the first century A.D. Drinks and foods became more and more sophisticated and called for increasing use of lead-contaminated sauces (notably, garum or liquamen, sapa or defrutum, passum , and so forth), spices, seasonings, and condiments.