Central-eastern to southeastern Europe, from Bohemia to Greece is home to some of the richest ore deposits on earth, with archaeological evidence suggesting a long history of metal use. However, the exact timing and extent of past metal processing activities remains unclear. The Middle Ages and Early Modern period (c. 500–1800 common era (CE)) in Europe, saw the expansion of metal use at an unprecedented scale, continent-wide. Here we analysed rates of past atmospheric lead (Pb) deposition in six peat bogs from Romania, Serbia and Greece. We show that after 1000 CE, the redevelopment of central European mining industry was synchronous with Pb pollution in southeastern Europe, with the onset of metal pollution occurring in the area prior to central Europe. Therefore, southeastern Europe may have led regional mining developments, with technological advances rapidly shifting from east to west through the Middle Ages. This indicates how southeastern Europe should be included in future discussions of Middle Age metallurgy not simply as a contributor, but at times as a leader in metal production.

中文翻译：

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中东欧是中世纪采掘冶金的中心


从中欧到东南欧，从波希米亚到希腊，是地球上一些最丰富的矿床的所在地，考古证据表明金属的使用历史悠久。然而，过去金属加工活动的确切时间和范围尚不清楚。欧洲的中世纪和近代早期（约公元 500-1800 年）见证了金属的使用以前所未有的规模在整个大陆上扩大。在这里，我们分析了来自罗马尼亚、塞尔维亚和希腊的六个泥炭沼泽中过去大气中铅 （Pb） 沉积速率。我们表明，公元 1000 年后，中欧采矿业的再开发与东南欧的铅污染同步，金属污染的开始发生在中欧之前的地区。因此，东南欧可能引领了区域采矿的发展，技术进步在中世纪迅速从东向西转移。这表明东南欧应该如何被纳入未来关于中世纪冶金学的讨论中，而不仅仅是作为一个贡献者，而且有时应该作为一个金属生产的领导者。