Salt Kiln

Salt was a valuable commodity that many barbarian tribes traded with the 'civilised' world. Archaeologists are able to identify areas of high salt production by the presence of a refuse deposit known as 'briquetage'. Ancient salt production started with pottery vessels; brine was added to these and allowed to dry out and form salt cakes. These pots were then smashed to release the salt cakes, resulting in large quantities of pottery shards. A recent discovery at the Poiana Slatinei archaeological site, next to a salt spring in Lunca, Romania, suggest that the Neolithic inhabitants of the area were boiling the salt-laden spring water to extract the salt as far back as 6050BC, making it the oldest known salt works in the world.