Prehistoric salt production: Technological approach in ceramic studies

Abstract

Numerous studies have been made on salt production in the European Iron Age, especially through broken low-fired clay artefacts known as “briquetage”. The vessels used in stoves are called salt moulds or salt containers. They serve both as crystallizer and mould for the salt obtained from concentrated brine. For the origin of salt production, archaeological evidences in Europe indicate that salt exploitation was intensified from the 5th millennium BC by using salt moulds in ceramic material. In this paper, we will present two studies conducted on “chaîne opératoire” of salt moulds making from two production sites, one in North-Eastern Bulgaria (Solnitstata, Provadia, c. 4700–4450 BCE), the other in West-Central France causewayed enclosures (c. 3400–2900 BCE). In both cases, the contexts in which these salt exploitations arose testify to an increase in social tensions.By focusing on the technical choices adopted in the manufacture and the use of these particular pots, we will see that for a same function several technical solutions are possible. However, we will attempt to define a general framework of technical choices and patterns observed in these pots which are often fragmented and rarely identified as salt moulds on archaeological sites except on production sites. This pottery is also excellent evidence for the development of specialised salt extraction throughout Europe since the late prehistoric period.