Silver (Civ3)/The Rise of Rome/Civilopedia

Silver was an important commodity for the Romans, used not only for coinage but also for weapons, cooking utensils
and other household items. At the height of the Roman Empire, silver mines were annually producing about 80,000 tons
of lead slag (a byproduct of the silver smelting process), and at least 1% of this went into the air. In fact, silver
mining was done on such a large scale during Roman times that traces of the pollution caused by the extraction process
is evident even today in Greenland’s ice packs. According to one source, the eventual depletion of the Mediterranean’s
lead and silver mines resulted in a shortage of silver coins, helping to hasten the downfall of the Roman Empire.