Archaeology of salt

""It has long been known that areas such as Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Essex were intensely exploited for salt in the Iron Age and Romano-British periods. Previous research has tended to focus on the eastern coast of Britain, with less attention being paid to other potential salt-producing areas. 

In previous studies in southern Britain, much emphasis has been placed on the distribution of salt and the ‘equipment’ used to produce and potentially transport salt - briquetage. Much less attention has been paid to the production process. 

This research project directly addresses this imbalance, by placing the emphasis on to the study of the production sites, and by creating and analysing a new dataset to contextualise sites using a holistic perspective.  The analysis of salt-production sites has redefined the archaeological terminology for salt production, and has critically evaluated how these sites have been incorporated into the archaeological record. 

The re-categorisation of the archaeological remains on a site by site basis has enabled the formation of a comprehensive dataset for the first time.  This has enabled a regional and chronological comparison of salt-production in southern Britain to be undertaken.

The  analysis has shown that despite problems of incorrect perceptions of salt production practices, inconsistent  recording and categorisation, and severe site damage by human and natural forces, it is possible, to inject concepts of ‘agency’ and ‘identity’ into these sites by exploring evidence of technological choice and use of space.

It was possible to identify distinctive ‘working areas’ containing features (hearths and brine tanks) where the main stages of salt-production were carried out.

New ‘Modes of Salt-Production’ have been created in order to compare different methods of organisation and ‘site management’ across time and space.  These modes enable a new approach about salt-production to be made set in the wider context of supply networks and specific consumer markets.   

This research has shown that there were significant regional and chronological variations in salt-production; with three main areas of activity identified in Somerset, Dorset and Kent.  The most significant chronological change was the substantial increase in salt-production during the 1st century A.D. followed by its decline in the 2nd century A.D in Kent and Dorset.  However, this was not the case in Somerset, where the dominant period of salt-production occurred between the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D. 

The identification of regional trends in the scale and organisation of production, as well as the rich diversity of sites, shows that producers adapted  to changes in the supply and consumption of salt over time.  Considerably more salt would have been required to supply the growing population in the 1st century A.D and this encouraged the creation of many new production sites.  However, the diversity in site character suggests that there was little tight control of coastal salt-production sites at that time.  It is argued that instead, focus was placed upon the exploitation of salt from inland brine springs in Cheshire and Worcestershire.  This is evidenced in the organisation, technology and creation of military supply bases close to these sites.

Instead, it is argued that the Roman invasion formalised and expanded existing supply networks from coastal salt-production sites, in addition to creating new inland networks.  This resulted in the creation of more formal ‘production and/or distribution centres.  It is also probable that the emergence of uniform salt-production sites in Somerset in the later Roman period, reflects that this area had become predominant for the supply of salt to major ‘consumer sites such as legionary fortresses and the larger towns.
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In the United Kingdom Permian and Triassic halite (rock salt) deposits have been affected by natural and artificial dissolution producing karstic landforms and subsidence. Brine springs from the Triassic salt have been exploited since Roman times, or possibly earlier, indicating prolonged natural dissolution. Medieval salt extraction in England is indicated by the of place names ending in “wich” indicating brine spring exploitation at Northwich, Middlewich, Nantwich and Droitwich. Later, Victorian brine extraction in these areas accentuated salt karst development causing severe subsidence problems that remain a legacy. The salt was also mined, but the mines flooded and consequent brine extraction caused the workings to collapse, resulting in catastrophic surface subsidence. Legislation was enacted to pay for the damage and a levy is still charged for salt extraction. Some salt mines are still collapsing and the re-establishment of the post-brine extraction hydrogeological regimes means that salt springs may again flow causing further dissolution and potential collapse.

Since the Early Neolithic, salt has played an important role in the social and economic development of populations. Consequently, the study and comprehension of salt management strategies have become a significant component of current archaeological research. This study is part of an interdisciplinary research program consisting of excavations and detailed analyses on two Early Neolithic salt working sites situated in the sub-Carpathian region of Romania, Lunca and Tolici (county Neamt¸ ). These
remarkably well-preserved sites are characterised by stratified deposits several meters thick. Detailed stratigraphic descriptions were followed by optical microscopy analysis (soil micromorphology) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with geochemical analysis (EDS). The aim of these analyses was to identify specific sedimentary, petrographic and chemical characteristics that could be linked to salt working process. The results enable us to describe the main site formation process over time and to detect chemical components of edible salt (Na and Cl) in Early Neolithic ashes. These new data consolidate previous interpretations of the operating procedures implemented from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Two techniques appear to have been preferentially adopted: pouring natural brine onto combustion structures during the Early Neolithic and evaporation in specific ceramic containers from the Chalcolithic onwards.

The fifth community archaeology workshop was held in June of 2013 on Cayo Sal in the Los Roques Archipelago, Venezuela. The workshop, designed for the students of the secondary school of Gran Roque Island, was the first historical archaeology initiative of the ongoing community archaeology program and the first initiative of its kind in Venezuela. The experience involved group-building activities and lectures by the team on archaeological methods and the history of Cayo Sal. This was followed by two days of excavation on the 19th-century archaeological site of Cayo Sal, located by the saltpans. Students were given the task of excavating, recording and documenting the dig and the materials as they recovered them in their units. An identification guide of diagnostic artifacts was given to each group which facilitated the understanding of what was being excavated in situ. Following the excavation, the students identified and analyzed the recovered material remains assisted by the archaeologists. Finally, they were encouraged to creatively juxtapose the material evidence and the historical background with their own experiences, to inquire on the quotidian life and work of the 19th-century Cayo Sal salt workers. The schoolchildren empathized with their direct past, identified its similarities and differences with their current realities, and communicated this through lively presentations that were both insightful and transformative for them and the archaeological team.

La recherche sur l'exploitation ancienne du sel dans le Midi de la France accuse un important retard, dû à l'absence de structures archéologiques, que ce soit briquetage ou marais salants. Pourtant les ressources salifères du Midi de la France sont loin d'être négligeables, entre le sel marin et les sources salées de l'arrière-pays.

Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naţionale a României Sarea, de la prezent la trecut -Piatra-Neamţ, Editura Constantin Matasă, 2008 ISBN 978-973-7777-16-4 622.363.1(082)(091) Coperta I: Slatina de la Hangu (foto Robin Brigand) Coperta IV: Mal de sare de la Mânzăleşti (foto Dorin Nicola) Copertă desenată de Daniel Garvăn © Editorii şi autorii EDITURA "CONSTANTIN MATASĂ" Str. Mihai Eminescu, nr. 10,

LOCATION 

5N 12E Sec. 34 SBM 34.48473 -115.72053 (MRDS, 2011)

The Bristol Lake Salt Plant (formerly California Salt, Leslie Chloride Plant) is southeast of Amboy Crater volcanic flows in Bristol Dry Lake. The southeast end of the Bristol Mountains are to the northwest and the America Mne in the northwest Bullion Mountains is to the southwest.

Bristol Lake, recently and thoroughly described by Gale (1951) covers an area of about 60 square miles just south of Amboy. It occupies the center of a broad depression, bordered mainly by ranges of pre-Cretaceous crystalline rocks, but flanked on the northwest by flows of Recent basaltic lava which emanated from ·Amboy crater about
3 miles west of Amboy (Wright and others, 1953, p. 219).

OWNERSHIP

California Salt Company National Salt Company Leslie Salt Company

The land is administered by U.S. Burau of Land Management. Operators leased the salt from the federal government under authority of Saline Placer Act of January 31, 1901 (31 Stat. 745; 30 U.S.C. 162) (The Diggings, 2021).

GEOLOGY

A regional geologic mosaic of the Bristol and Old Dad Mountains is available at:

https://www.academia.edu/s/bd8414fe42/geologic-mosaic-of-the-bristol-and-old-dad-mountains-san-bernardino-county-california-text

A regional stratigraphic compilation for this mosaic is at:

https://www.academia.edu/31570340/Stratigraphic_Compilation_for_the_Bristol_and_Old_Dad_Mountains_San_Bernardino_County_California_TEXT

My report on the geology of the Bristol Lake Salt Plant can be accessed at:

https://www.academia.edu/52331735/Amboy_Crater_Area_Mines_San_Bernardino_County_California 

or

http://www.greggwilkerson.com/amboy-crater.html

LAKE DEPOSIT GEOLOGY

Distribution . The west edge or the map area is occupied by Bagdad  Dry Lake, which is the western extreme of lake deposition in Bristol Basin.  Bristol Dry Lake is situated south of Amboy in the eastern half of the  area (Schaefer and others, 1958. p. 7-8). 

Lithology. The playa surface consists of tan to dark brown clay containing scattered gypsum crystals along the lake margins. The clay surface is very rough consisting of puffy hummocks which is characteristic  type of playa clay. This feature is due to the salt content of the clay which commonly produces a “salt bloom due to  capillary action. In places, on Bristol and Bagdad Dry Lakes, there is a  very thin crust of salt . This has been deposited by the evaporation of surface runoff water which in wet years may lie standing on the lake to a  depth of several feet (Schaefer and others, 1958. p. 7-8). 

Gypsum occurs in a belt around the north and west sides of Bristol dry Lake. On the geologic map an area of dominantly gypsum (as determined  by field observations and air photo geology) and another of gypsiferous clay are distinguished. Core hole data (see APPENDICES B and C) indicate the subsurface extent of the gypsum is variable (Schaefer and others, 1958. p. 7-8). 

Subsurface data in the lake center (see APPENDICES D and E and Gale,  1951) show that Bristol Basin is filled with over 1000 feet of alternating  beds of salt , clay, and silt . The uppermost and mined bed of salt is  outlined on the map (data from Gale, 1951). The core data indicate the  salt is associated with green beds of clay. This relationship indicates that a fairly persistent body of water existed during deposition of  the green clay and then it desiccated enough to deposit the salt. Origin  of the salt is not definitely known (Schaefer and others, 1958. p. 7-8). 

Age and Relation to other rocks. There is evidence of deflation having removed sediment from the surface of the dry lake. This and the veneer of eolian sand (thick in places but not shown on geologic map) along the west side of the playa gives the impression that the basalt overlies the lake clay. Actually, the basalt is overlain partly by the dry lake beds, but the subsurface relationship is not known. It is  assumed that the flows lie upon older lake sediment. Alluvial material around the sides of the playa overlie and extend in places out onto the dry lake (especially southeast of Saltus) (Schaefer and others, 1958. p. 7-8). 

The lake deposits are considered to be Pleistocene in age, but may extend to the sub-Recent (Schaefer and others, 1958. p. 7-8). 

Bishop (1963) mapped the Bristol Lake Salt Plant as having outcrops of:

Holocene deposits

Qlt: Salt Deposits
Ql: Quaternary lake deposits
Qpvb: Pleistocene basalt
Quaternary and/or Pliocene cinder cones

Bishop (1963) mapped the area of the Bristol Lake Salt Plant as salt deposits (Qst) within Quaternary lake beds (Ql).

Kupfer and Basset (1962) mapped the following units in the Bristol Lake Salt Plant area:
Qa: Alluvium
Playa Deposit
Qca
Qx
Qxb
Qxc
Qxg

Qoa: Quaternary Older Alluvium
Qb2: Quaternary basalt flows and cones

Kupfer and Bassett, 1962, mapped the area of the Amboy Crater Mines as
Quaternary basalt flows and cones (Qb2).

Kupfer and Bassett (1963) mapped the Bristol Lake Salt Plant as a salt crystal body at or near the surface (Qx):

Bedford and others (2010) and Phelps and others (2012) mapped the Amboy 100K Quadrangle. Howard (2002) mapped the Sheep Hole 100K Quadrangle. In the Bristol Lake Salt Plant area they identified the following units:

Substrate Units: Qmv: Quaternary Mafic Volcanics


Hill Slope Deposits
Qha/Qmv

Alluvial Units
Qya

Wash Deposits
Qyw-Qaw: Young Wash-Active Wash deposits

Pediment Surfaces
Qpd-fpg: Deeply dissected pediment, felsic plutonic rocks converting to gruss
Qpi/pc: Incised pediment, partly consolidated

Eolian Deposits

Qye/Qmv: Young eolian sand/Quaternary mafic volcanics
Qae/Qmv: Active eolian sand deposit/Quaternary mafic volcnics

Qyp: Younger playa deposit
Qpsg and Qpsh: Halite and gypsum deposits

Bedford and others (2010) mapped the area of the Amboy Craters as Active eolian sand deposit/Quaternary mafic volcanics (Qae/Qmv) and Hillslope/Quaternary mafic volcanic rocks (Qha/Qmv).

Howard (2002) mapped the area of the Bristol Lake Salt Plant as Quaternary Playa silt-halite deposits (Qpsh).
Dibblee and Minch (2008f) mapped the area of the Bristol Lake Salt Plant as having the following exposures:

Qa: Alluvium

Qoa: Older Alluvium

Qb: Pleistocene basalt

Dibblee and Minch (2008f) mapped the area of the Amboy Craterss Area  as Quaternary basalt (Qb). There map does not extend to Bristol Dry Lake.

Schafer and others (1959): T.5N, R.11 and 12E, SBM:

Qal: Alluvium
Qabf: Recent basalt flows
Qabcc: Younger cinder cones

Bristol (Dry) Lake sediments:

EVAPORITES

In the area of the Bristol Lake Salt Plant, Schafer and others mapped lakebed halite and clay (Qblh).

Schafer and others )1958) described saline minerals in Bristol and Cadiz lake in their Southern Pacific Railroad report for T.5N, R.11 and 12E, SBM. The Saline Mineral section of that report is reproduced in Appendix A.

The rock salt deposit of present commercial interest is an extensive horizontal layer as much as 7 feet thick, and covered by 3 to 7 feet of overburden. It is believed possible to mine the salt profitably over an area of 5 square miles in the northwestern part of the lake where the salt layer exceeds 3 feet in thickness. Bordering this area on the south is the depression's lowest part, known as Salt Lake and covered with a thin crust of rock salt. Plants recovering calcium chloride from the brines of Salt Lake have produced common salt as a by-product (Wright and others, 1953, p. 219)

La commune de Salies-de-Béarn (Pyrénées-Atlantique) suscite depuis une cinquantaine d’années un intérêt archéologique avec la mise au jour de nombreux sites par Marcel Saule. Ces découvertes sont révélées sur différents quartiers de la ville, l’exploitation du sel est l’élément commun. Ces occupations touchent les périodes allant de la Protohistoire à l’Antiquité qui est majoritaire avec dix-neuf sites. L’importance des données combinées aux techniques récentes de l’archéologiques,  nous permettent de proposer un premier bilan de l’organisation de ce territoire et de l’activité saunière pour la période antique.
Mots-clés : Sel, Briquetage, Salies-de-Béarn, Haut-Empire.

One of the main salt basins in South Arabia is located in the southern part of Yemen, along the edges of Ramlat as-Sabʿatayn. This basin, some 600 km long and 100 km wide, shows diapiric walls orientated northwest-southeast, from the Indian Ocean to the Jawf. The salt-mines follow a long line west of Ḥaḍramawt cliffs (Jawl) and north of Jabal al-Nisiyīn. Salt-mines are sometimes located at the tail of main wādīs, such as Wādīs ʿIrmā/ʿAṭf, Jirdān, Ḥammām and Bayḥān. Salt was probably a small-scale production, feeding a local and regional trade in antiquity.
In Northern Tihâma, salt mines around as-Salîf were known to exist in the medieval period.
In the Afar depression on the western side of the Red Sea, salt traded to Highlands.

ABSTRACT

Research at Wits Cah Ak’al (WCA), a heretofore unexcavated site near Belize City, Belize, has produced evidence of a salt extraction and pottery production industry in a non-residential setting. The artifact assemblage of the salt-production component bears strong resemblance to other salt production sites found along the Caribbean coast of Belize during the past two decades. Solid clay cylinders and other briquetage signify the use of a method of salt extraction commonly called sal cocida. Despite site utiliza- tion extending back conservatively to the Late Preclassic period (400 BC – AD 250), salt production is confined to Late/Terminal Classic periods (AD 600 – 950), a finding that concurs with production at other known salterns in Belize. Results of excavation and recording of briquetage reveal at least one in situ salt-boiling pit furnace that likely involved an array of seven pottery vessels.

During the Late Preclassic, pottery production took place at Wits Cah Ak’al. Excavation and artifact analyses satisfy multiple criteria for the identification of a pottery production locale; thus, WCA is one of the most firmly identified––and the first specialized––pottery production locales documented for the Maya lowlands.

Currently WCA is located in a mangrove landscape; pollen evidence presented here indicates that this landscape has considerable antiquity. This finding may explain why the site lacks evidence for residential occupation. On the other hand, the area is rich in organic and inorganic resources—such as clay, brine, chert, limestone, sand, and fuel wood—which may have attracted ancient Maya potters and salters to this distinctive landscape.

This research integrates multiple lines of evidence from archaeological survey, magnetometry, excavation, palynology, geomorphology, artifact analysis, replicative experiments, AMS dating, INAA, ICP-MS, thin section petrography, micromorphology, SEM, FTIR, and GIS. Furthermore, this study answers recent calls by archaeologists to consider the importance of all types of production (not just specialized production), to focus on producers and contexts in which production occurred, to explore the interaction of multiple crafting practices, and to generate much needed empirical data upon which better constructed theories of craft production may stand.

Reconstruction of paleo relative sea level (RSL) is based on multi-proxy disciplines including archaeology. Saltpans, like fish tanks which are considered a reliable method for acquiring RSL index points, are also anthropogenic intertidal facilities, used continuously in the Mediterranean from early antiquity. The Dalmatian shore contains a large number of preserved and historically dated ancient saltpans, now flooded by the rising sea, providing great potential for past RSL indication. The primary objective of this study is to develop a new holistic approach for producing high quality elevation measurements of the saltpan structures and estimating paleo RSL during the last 2 ka. The study combined aerial photo-grammetry of the site, bathymetry acoustics scanning, and underwater archaeological survey of the man-made structures, as well as sampling wood and mortar in situ where available. Evaluation of each site's RSL and the functional height is based on the same assumptions and interpretations made for fish tanks, using elevation measurements on the top of the separation walls and the bottom of the sluice gates. In all the sites analyzed here, we achieved reliable digital surface models with continuous high-resolution data on the indicative structures with single centimeters level of accuracy. The study finds that during the 5th-6th centuries, RSL was -92 ± 25 cm, increased to -62 ± 21 cm during the 7th-11th centuries, and decreased to -104 ± 20 cm in the 14th century. Medieval RSL can be explained either by strong tectonic subsidence post 1300 AD or by fluctuations as observed in the East Mediterranean, which requires validation by further Medieval indicators.

La cuestión de la importancia de la minería medieval en la dinámica de los espacios campesinos y en el desarrollo del sistema feudal ha recibido recientemente atención fuera de nuestras fronteras 1 , pero ha sido obviada en las discusiones sobre poblamiento rural y espacios de poder en los reinos cristianos de la Península Ibérica en los siglos que nos ocupan 2 . Consideramos que, en un marco como éste, en el que los recursos mineros constituyeron a menudo el motivo principal de colonización del suelo por determinados grupos humanos, y en una coyuntura en la que las formas de aprovechamiento del suelo se han modificado considerablemente respecto a la época romana, es necesario reintroducir la minería como uno de los elementos fundamentales de la explotación y del espacio campesino, y como uno de los recursos que mayor renta generaban, por lo que es evidente que sería uno de los factores que más condicionara las formas de poblamiento y su organización por el poder central o local. De hecho, la pugna por este recurso se manifiesta en las sucesivas legislaciones de monopolio y posteriores privatizaciones o concesiones de arrendamiento de los recursos que caracterizan a toda la Edad Media peninsular 3 .

Comentarios e interpretaciones sobre las concepciones antiguas en México acerca de las aguas marinas y sus conexiones con el mundo subterráneo. Especialmente se comentan las implicaciones de estas creencias con la producción tradicional de sal en varias regiones de México.

Abstract. Maramureş Depression represents a distinct region which occupies the north- eastern parts of the Carpathian Basin (Map 1). As land, is a closed, bounded on all sides by mountains. The main access was the river Tisza and pass that it does in the west part of the region. Today we know a number of 31 Dacian period findings dated from the IInd century BC to the IIIrd century AD (Map 2). Of these, 24 (77 %) are monetary findings (isolated coins or hoards), six are cemeteries (19%) with a total of over 110 burial mounds, three are settlements (10 %), and two are Dacian fortifications (6%). Although few in number, archaeological findings provide a fairly large amount of information about the Dacian civilization. In total there were discovered a number of 20 to 23 dwellings (containing a rich inventory, especially pottery, but also tools and weapons), numerous household (barns or storage pits supplies) and one single house of worship (typical Dacian buildings with an apse). The developments of Dacians who remained outside from the Dacia Roman provinces, seems to be uniform in this reion, slightly disturbed by the Roman conquest of a large part of the territory inhabited by Dacian. Elements of climate and relief, and the existence of trade routes (river valleys and mountain passes) facilitated the predilection of certain economic activities, production and trade over long distances. Evidence of this are some roman imports goods, but especially the thousands of Roman coins found in this geographic area.

Avery Island is known far and wide for its natural beauty. Live oaks bearing festoons of Spanish moss, fields plush with red hot peppers, snowy egrets building nesting beside the ponds, and alligators peering slyly above the murky waters are but a few of the elements that make this island a virtual Eden. However, it was the presence of an active saline that made Avery Island attractive to both historic and prehistoric populations. Indians made good use of the Salt Mine Valley site for making salt in late prehistoric times, and even earlier Indians used the island to erect earthen edifices, such as the Banana Bayou Mound. In the Petite Anse Project Ian Brown begins with a thorough discussion of the archaeology of Avery Island and then heads out to the other salt domes and surrounding marsh in exploring the rich culture history of the coastal plain. Three parishes receive major treatment in this volume and well over a hundred sites are explored. The degradation brought about by hurricanes and industry has changed forever the west-central coast of Louisiana. Because many of the sites visited and described by the author have sadly disappeared, this work is an important time capsule for those interested in Louisiana’s past.

In spite of the ‘white gold’s’ eminent importance for daily life in the Roman Empire and numerous pre- and protohistoric studies dedicated to this topic, this resource has not received intensified attention in the archaeological research on the Rhine and Danube provinces until the last few decades. Several research projects suggest a collapse of inland salt extraction and a shift of the production sites to the coastlines in connection with the integration of Central Europe into Rome’s sphere of control. This study compiles some of the scattered evidence for salt extraction in this region from the imperial period and discusses the demand and the channels of trade, as well as the economic importance of this mineral resource. The site of Michlhallberg (Bad Aussee, Austria) and connected trade routes leading to Ovilava resp. Virunum illustrate that some rock salt deposits in the eastern Alpine area were extracted in Roman times.

he recent archaeological investigations carried out in the beach of Baratti Bay(Piombino, Tuscany, Italy) have revealed the existence of an important salt production sitedated to the Late Bronze Age (10th century B.C.). A detailed analysis of the stratigraphicsequence attested the employment of fire in the activities of extraction and, possibly, theproduction of salt blocks, which could be easily transported and traded. This method is nowdocumented by a growing number of sites in Italy, mainly located in the central Tyrrheniancoast and occupied during the Late Bronze Age. In this regard, it should be emphasized thatthere was a close relationship between the production and the commercialization of saltblocks in central coastal Italy and the development of a pastoral economy among thecommunities that occupied the Apennines region in protohistoric time

Nel lavoro si analizza l'evoluzione geografica e storica dell'area del Capo Mannu (San Vero Milis) sulla costa occidentale della Sardegna. L'analisi fa emergere il ruolo che a partire dal neolitico recente hanno svolto le saline naturali di Sa Salina manna e lo scalo portuale situato nella Cala di Su Pallosu che si propone di identificare con il Korakodes Portus delle fonti classiche.

Salt in Pre-and Protohistoric Central Europe: A Review. – The high regard of salt in prehistoric Central Europe stemmed from its nutritional and physiological necessity, as well as its various uses. In terms of methods of exploitation, early extraction by boiling can be separated from later rock salt mining, and then sea salt extraction on the North Sea and Channel coasts comes into play. Proof of salt evaporation by boiling has been established firstly in western Galicia (Barycz) in the middle Neolithic (Lengyel) and in Central Germany (Halle a. S.) in the later Neolithic (Bernburg). In the early Bronze Age, the central Saale region around Halle comes to the fore, and in the Urnfield period at the latest, mining begins in Hallstatt. During the transition from Bronze Age to Iran Age, a widening of salt production in Central Europe is observed. In the early Iron Age, salt extraction in Lorraine and the coastal areas begins. The main salt areas of the La Tène period are Dürrnberg, Bad Nauheim and Schwäbisch Hall. In the wake of Roman expansion, the Central European salt production and exchange system pretty much collapses. Exceptions to this downfall are Schwäbisch Hall and some coastal areas. After the period of migration of peoples, the foundations are laid for salt extraction and trade mechanisms right up to the early modern era through the slow recovery of the Central European salt industry. Salt areas often develop to centres of economic power, diverse craftsmanship and wide ranging trade; the richly equipped burials of the Eastern Alpine mining centres of Hallstatt and Dürrnberg show the miners as the creators and beneficiaries of this prosperity. Proof of a prehistoric salt trade has only been established in a handful of cases. In any case, trade relations are evident between Bohemia and Central Germany and the Eastern Alpine region; additionally, the Southern German lower alpine regions also appear to have belonged to the areas of salt distribution of the alpine salt establishments. Finally, Schwäbisch Hall in southwest Germany played a considerable part. A salt trade geared towards the interior can be established for the British and Continental coastal salt areas. The range of extraction possibilities and distribution patterns are reflected in ethnological analogies which enable us to broaden our horizons and can be of considerable importance in achieving a better understanding of prehistoric relationships.

This ethnoarchaeological study examines contemporary salt and
earthenware pottery production in Alburquerque, Bohol, Central
Philippines. It highlights the intersection of these two craft
industries through the use of locally made earthenware pots for
salt making, serving both as brine boiling containers, as well as
standard units of measurement for trade. It examines the spatial
distribution of production activities and related material culture,
from the procurement of resources through the stages of
production, to distribution, and the resulting archaeological
correlates to serve as a framework for interpreting prehistoric salt
sites with pottery remains. Moreover, this research contributes to
research on household-based production activities, demonstrating
that households can be active and integral participants in inter-community
and regional markets and long-distance exchange.

The fact that the narrative of Genesis 19:26 describes Lot’s wife being turned into a pillar of salt, and not some other substance, is consistent with the use of salt in the violation of a covenant and its associated curse (ḥêrem) in the ANE, and with the practice of throwing salt on property that symbolized infertility and barrenness. Lots’ wife, in being turned into a pillar of salt, was seen through ANE eyes as now being infertile and barren and under the covenant curse. The importance of fertility in the context is further reinforced in the narrative by the necessity of the incestuous union between Lot and his daughters (Gen 19:30-38).
In addition, the present soil analysis and the mysterious Late Bronze gap in the Jordan Valley also seem to converge in supporting this infertility hypothesis. The ANE readers of the account would have clearly understood the association of Lot’s wife being turned into a pillar of salt with the ANE covenant curse (Deut 28:15–68). In Van Rooy’s study of infertility in the ANE he concludes that it:
demonstrates to what extent the subject of fertility as blessing and infertility as curse lived in the hearts and minds of the people of the Ancient Near East. Without this much of the myth and ritual of the Ancient Near East cannot be understood precisely because it was directed to fertility, while in Israel petition and sacrifice often had the same aim (1985: 232).
In this context salt, was the perpetual reminder of infertility and the violation of the covenant and the archaeological evidence also appears to converge and bear witness to this fact.

The foremost scholar of salt archaeology in North America, Ian W. Brown has turned his expertise and enthusiasm to Iron Age and Roman salt production in Essex. The resulting illustrated and engaging account is both highly personal and exhaustive, providing a thorough review of the existing literature as well as his own travels, and resulting in an original model for the ancient salt manufacture in the area. A must read for scholars interested in salt archaeology anywhere in the world, Brown has once again proven why his work is indispensable.

The multi-coloured and richly patterned tablet-woven ribbons from the Iron Age salt-mines of Hallstatt gave the impetus to a lot of archaeological experiments. They concerned with the reconstruction of the weaving-technique, so pattern diagrams had to be prepared in order to analyse the patterns and to reconstruct them. The weaving-experiments with hand-spun woollen threads showed that the fine yarn of the original fabrics is not easy to reproduce and there is some pre-treatment of the threads necessary to achieve good weaving results with tablets of various materials such as clay, wood or leather. An interesting theme is the labour requirement of the work, which can give a better understanding of prehistoric life.

La sal común, o cloruro de sodio, ha sido un elemento indispensable para la vida desde los tiempos más remotos hasta la actualidad. Su importancia para la humanidad fue expresada por Casiodoro, historiador romano del siglo VI, con las siguientes palabras: “alguien puede no querer oro, pero nunca habrá quien no quiera sal”. Desde la perspectiva de la etnoarqueología y la etnohistoria en este libro se analiza la producción salinera contemporánea en la cuenca del lago de Cuitzeo y en la costa michoacana, para identificar la cultura material relacionada con esta industria tradicional y las huellas que estas actividades dejan sobre el paisaje a lo largo de los siglos. También analizamos el papel de la sal como recurso estratégico en el imperio tarasco durante el periodo Protohistórico (ca. 1450-1530 d.C.).

RESUMO: Análise de questões relacionadas com as estratégias de povoamento das comunidades que habitaram o(s) território(s) da Serra da Arrábida no decorrer do “Bronze Final”. A investigação focou-se nas áreas da Serra da Arrábida e da Serra do Risco, estendendo-se, para poente, até às serras dos Pinheirinhos e da Azóia, na plataforma do Cabo Espichel, e, para nascente, até à “Pré-Arrábida”, dominante sobre a foz do Sado.
PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Arrábida, Sado, Paisagens, Presença Humana, Bronze Final, a Vida e o Sagrado, Santuários Naturais, Navegações, Sal.

ABSTRACT: The object of this work is to analyse some issues regarding the settlement strategies of the communities that once inhabited the territory(-ies) of Serra da Arrábida (Setúbal/Sesimbra, Portugal) during the period in History conventionally called the “Late Bronze Age”. The research work focused on two main areas – Serra da Arrábida and Serra do Risco – but it also extended to the west, covering the areas of Pinheirinhos and Azóia (both elevations located on the plateau of Cabo Espichel), and to the east, covering what is called the “Pre- Arrábida”, overhanging the mouth of river Sado.
KEY WORDS: Arrábida, Sado, Landscapes, Human presence, Late Bronze Age, Life and Sacred, Natural Sanctuaries, Navigation, Salt.

Evidence of Bronze and Early Iron Age salt-making (2nd millennium – 1st half of the 1st millennium BC) was found in Poland in three regions (“Krakow area”, “San area”, “Puck area”). The possible exploitation of brine in Greater Poland and Kuyavia is yet to be confirmed – it has been postulated so far only on the basis of single spool-like objects found in a different context (in graves). The organization of salt brewing in the centres on the San river and in Puck area cannot be yet presented in more detail due to the initial stage of research in both these regions. The research on the organization of brewing in the salt-making centre located near Krakow shows that four types of sites connected with salt exploitation can be distinguished in the salt-bearing areas of the Wieliczka-Bochnia belt: (1) production sites, with no evidence of permanent structures or materials indicative of regular occupation, (2) settlements with separate salt-making areas, (3) settlements with scattered traces of brewing activity within the inhabited part, (4) non-production settlements with traces of the final stages of the evaporation process, briquette formation, or salt packing. Their location is closely related to the distribution of saltwater resources. Some sites, from the Early and Middle Bronze Age (e.g. Kraków-Bieżanów 15), or the Late Bronze Age (e.g. Kraków-Barycz 5), were production sites sensu stricto. In others, the salt-making activity was concentrated in specific zones, in particular in low-lying parts with access to salt springs (e.g. Kraków-Bieżanów 11). The distribution of production traces can follow different patterns, without spatial separation from the residential part of the settlement (e.g. Brzezie 17), or with evidence of the final stages of production (forming salt briquettes or removing them from containers) found in essentially non-production settlements (e.g. Podłęże 17; Kraków-Cło 65). The “centres” from the Polish lands discussed in this article seem to represent two patterns of organization: 1 – subsistence, non-specialized production carried out with ordinary vessels and using local brine, not necessarily with high NaCl concentration, and 2 – specialized production, i.e. an organized system of salt brewing, reflected in archaeological terms by mass recorded remains of briquetages and archaeological features related to this production (clay pits, hearths, brine wells, etc.). The parallel existence of specialized settlements, focused solely on the production of standardized salt briquettes, and non-production settlements with ad hoc salt production points to the diversified nature of this production, even within the same microregion.