Lead isotope ratios for Mediterranean ores

This page contains links to a database of lead isotope ratios for ores collected from around the Mediterranean. The database was compiled from papers published between 1967 and 1997 for part of my PhD thesis "Lead Isotope Analysis in Archaeology" (University of Bradford, 1997). The data is presented in a number of different formats.

The ores have been placed in groups corresponding to countries or important regions.

All of the samples' isotope values are given to the same number of decimal places as they were first published with. In most papers the ratios ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb were given. The ratios ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb shown have been calculated from the other values.

With the publication of 'definitive' lists by the Isotrace Laboratory, Oxford, in Archaeometry (refs. 55, 63 and 64) some old analyses from this lab have been deemed inadequate. Older samples from this laboratory for areas covered by the 'definitive' lists have been removed from the edited database.

The edited database

Some samples were clearly reanalysed and republished over the period covered by this database. The data pages linked from this page have been edited: all repeated samples and samples deemed by their laboratory to be indequate are removed; all samples analysed before 1976 are removed because of the much poorer precision of measurement before that time; and all samples which only have two isotope ratios given are removed. In a few cases two measurements are given for samples that appear to be the same. This is done if the two measurements were carried out by different laboratories or if the measurements are clearly repeats made at the same time to indicate variability of the sample or precision of the measurements.

The full, unedited, database is available as an Open Document Format spreadsheet below; as is a copy of the edited database.

Data from different regions

=> Algeria | Cyprus | Egypt | Greece | Morocco | Palestine | Sardinia | Spain | Syria | Turkey | Tuscany

=> A list of all the papers used to compile this database.

All the data in the other files is referenced by a link to this file.

Open Document Format spreadsheet files

=> Edited data set | Full data set

Plain text files

Both the full and edited data sets are available as tab-separated text files. The references and notes are in separate files.

=> Edited data set | Notes and references for the edited data set | Full data set | Notes and references for the full data set

=> Brett Scaife's home page