First salt making in Europe: an overview from Neolithic times

• Main Author: Olivier Weller
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani (Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts) 2015-12-01
• Series: Documenta Praehistorica
• Subjects: salt production; Neolithic; Europe; archaeological evidence
• Online Access: https://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/DocumentaPraehistorica/article/view/4134

This paper deals with the origin of salt production and discusses different approaches ranging from technology, ethnoarchaeology and paleoenvironmental studies to chemical analyses. Starting from the current research on the Neolithic exploitation of salt in Europe, we examine the types and nature of the salt resources (sea water, salt springs, soil or rock), the diversity of archaeological evidence of forms of salt working. We also scrutinize the types of production for these early forms of salt exploitation, with or without the use of crudely fired clay vessels (briquetage). Finally, we contextualise the socio-economic dimensions and highlight both the diversity of salt products and their characteristics, which go well beyond dietary roles.