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Thread: Salt in the olden times

  1. #1

    Default Salt in the olden times

    When you think about it, salt is very, very easy to produce and harvest. The old Hawaiians took water from the ocean and made salt beds from which they harvest the salt. Not only is this a common practice in Polynesia but also in Asia where Indians and southeast asians produced salt from the ocean. But in dark/Middle Ages europe, salt could only be obtained through trade with Africa and Asia. Salt production could have easily been produced in Europe via the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic it's not a rare commodity if you think about it.

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    HannibalExMachina's Avatar Just a sausage
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times


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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    Quote Originally Posted by the great yuan khan View Post
    But in dark/Middle Ages europe, salt could only be obtained through trade with Africa and Asia.
    Must be very dark Middle Ages you are talking about. In the other Middle Ages salt was produced in large quantities in Europe, both from mining and from the sea.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    It's not so easy with salt. There are several main factors affecting the effectivity of open salt bed harvesting.
    1. Sunlight and temperature
    2. Humidity and rainfall
    3. Salinity of sea/ocean

    Equatorial and subequatorial coastal areas are excellent for salt production. It's obviously not possible during monsoon season, but between...clear skies, little rain, high temperatures...on the other hand, areas like Baltic, most of Atlantic coast and British Isles are quite cold and soaked all year round, so their production was obviously quite low. Mediterranean fares a bit better, but in the end the European production from salt mining and sea salt harvesting couldn't cover the needs of growing population.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    How easy it was to produce salt is highly dependent on location.

    Its both cheap and simple in a relatively dry and warm region near the ocean/sea, or near a deposit worth mining. Far inland with no salt deposits nearby however, and the stuff would go for a fortune. Transporting goods across the ancient world wasn't as trivial as a modern human might think; we've gotten used to trains and trucks, and to bandits being a non-issue. An ancient trader working with pack animals and bad roads, and having to ward off marauders, well lets just say there's a reason salt was so expensive far from where it was produced.
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    Rock salt has been mined in Spain since at least the Roman period. See the mines around Cardona as an example. I guess later on into the Medieval period, it might have become more economical to import due to the increasing ease mass transit along sea routes, but there definitely was some domestic production.
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    Aru's Avatar Protector Domesticus
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    4 (at lest) medieval salt producing locations in my vicinity come to mind. Cities of Tuzla and Soli (Salt) in Bosnia and Slankamen (Salty stone) in Serbia had salt mines and Tuzla is still major producer. On Adriatic coast the most famous one is Ston on Pelješac peninsula, once republic of Ragusa. It was so important that whole peninsula is walled from continental side.
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    Quote Originally Posted by Caligula's_Horse View Post
    How easy it was to produce salt is highly dependent on location.

    Its both cheap and simple in a relatively dry and warm region near the ocean/sea, or near a deposit worth mining. Far inland with no salt deposits nearby however, and the stuff would go for a fortune. Transporting goods across the ancient world wasn't as trivial as a modern human might think; we've gotten used to trains and trucks, and to bandits being a non-issue. An ancient trader working with pack animals and bad roads, and having to ward off marauders, well lets just say there's a reason salt was so expensive far from where it was produced.
    Salt was one of the most shipped commodities in the Ancient world. I think it's just below wheat, wine and olive oil in the Mediterranean world. Salt has a relatively high value to mass ratio, doesn't spoil, and requires no expensive containers like amphorae for wine and olive oil.
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  9. #9

    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    The difficulties ancient/medieval salt traders went through to get the product to market shows how valuable it was and how difficult it was to produce just anywhere. The Afar people in northern Ethiopia (the Danakil depression) still go through much of that as it is still a worthwhile enterprise (i.e. mining salt from the ground and transporting it vast distances on camel caravans. The Danakil depression is an amazing sight if you ever manage to get to that part of the world (or if you live there!). Looks like it could be changing finally though if this article is true. Some good pics here as well.


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    Aru's Avatar Protector Domesticus
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    ^^ meanwhile western tourists pay money to gather the salt the medieval way as part of a tourist package.

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  11. #11
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    There's a huge salt mine near Krakow called Wieliczka Salt Mine which have been in production since the 13th century. It is a fantastic sight, surprisingly.


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    NikeBG's Avatar Sampsis
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    Heck, possibly one of the oldest "towns" in Europe was built because of a local salt-production centre.

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    clandestino's Avatar Primicerius
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    In medieval Europe salt was produced in two ways: from sea water on the Mediterranean coasts and from the salt mines in several places in inner of continent. The salt production and trade in medieval Balkan is quite well researched and there are many academic works concerning this issue, essentially there were several places on the Adriatic coast where the salt was produced from the see water and very limited number of places for salt trade cause its trade was strictly regulated and controlled. Salt was transported to the inland by caravans and it was very important trade commodity.
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    Quote Originally Posted by the great yuan khan View Post
    But in dark/Middle Ages europe, salt could only be obtained through trade with Africa and Asia.
    That's not true actually. There were plenty of salt mines all over Europe and the towns around them were not only rich but also the target of many wars. There are some places in Romania, like Turda, Slanic, etc which operate continuously since the time of the romans.
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    NikeBG's Avatar Sampsis
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    Indeed, and the salt from the Transylvanian salt mines was even used as "weapon" in wars at least once - f.e. the German/East Frankish King Arnulf once asked Knyaz Vladimir Rasate (end-9th c.) to stop the export of salt to Velikomoravia as a way to help the Franks in their war with them. At first it sounds kinda funny - "How would a salt embargo help you in your war?", but I guess it's still better than simply sanctioning the retinue of the Moravian ruler.

  16. #16

    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    Quote Originally Posted by NikeBG View Post
    Indeed, and the salt from the Transylvanian salt mines was even used as "weapon" in wars at least once - f.e. the German/East Frankish King Arnulf once asked Knyaz Vladimir Rasate (end-9th c.) to stop the export of salt to Velikomoravia as a way to help the Franks in their war with them. At first it sounds kinda funny - "How would a salt embargo help you in your war?", but I guess it's still better than simply sanctioning the retinue of the Moravian ruler.
    Completely ignoring the reduced profit in commerce, salt was actually vitally important for ancient war efforts when preparing for a siege. Its a key preservative.

    What we tend to forget nowadays is that in the ancient world, sieges were the norm and large field battles the exception. Depending on how a campaign unfolds, cutting off your opponent's supply of salt could prove more crucial then cutting off his supply of iron.
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  17. #17
    Ludicus's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    A curiosity: in the past, salt would generally provide over half and sometimes as much as 80% of all Chinese government revenues. Particularly in Ming and Qing China - and even before that. The monopolies of salt (and iron) played a dominant role in the Chinese economy. Interesting reading,"Discourses on Salt and Iron", Huan Kuan.

    Its the account of a debate called by the Emperor Zhao around 81 BCE, and the goal was to have scholars examine the advantage and disadvantages of continuing the government's control the salt and iron, two of the most important Chinese commodities. There were two positions: in this debate the "Lord Grand Secretary" represents a pro-monopoly perspective, and the "Literati" represent the anti-monopoly perspective.Its a very interesting reading.

    In West Africa, salt was also a crucial component in the rise of state power, and the development of culture was in no small way tied to the trade in salt. Interesting reading, The Book of Roads and Provinces,Abu Ubayadallah al-Bakri -describing the Saharan and Savannah regions of West Africa. Another splendid source is A Donation to Those interested in Curiosities, Ibn Battuta - about the salt economy of the 14th century West Africa.
    Last edited by Ludicus; December 05, 2014 at 12:40 PM.
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    Quote Originally Posted by Ludicus View Post
    ...
    In West Africa, salt was also a crucial component in the rise of state power, and the development of culture was in no small way tied to the trade in salt....
    Thats a fascinating point. The ability to store certain foodstuffs is a key point in a groups ability to concentrate and deploy resources.
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  19. #19

    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    Quote Originally Posted by Caligula's_Horse View Post
    What we tend to forget nowadays is that in the ancient world, there were no refrigerators.
    You could also put it this way.

    What escapes most people (probably much less around here on TWC) these days is that reliable refrigeration around the clock throughout the entire year is a relatively recent development, because they're so incredibly used to it. So when you ask why they're eating anything salted, pickled, smoked, glazed in honey and sugar etc., they're going to cite a host of culinary preferences. The fact that all of these techniques stem from ideas of preserving food for storage, rather than culinary reasons, simply doesn't usually occur to them, because that's more or less a non-issue these days.
    Last edited by Tankfriend; December 13, 2014 at 05:49 AM.

  20. #20
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    Default Re: Salt in the olden times

    Quote Originally Posted by Sar1n View Post
    It's not so easy with salt. There are several main factors affecting the effectivity of open salt bed harvesting.
    1. Sunlight and temperature
    2. Humidity and rainfall
    3. Salinity of sea/ocean

    Equatorial and subequatorial coastal areas are excellent for salt production. It's obviously not possible during monsoon season, but between...clear skies, little rain, high temperatures...on the other hand, areas like Baltic, most of Atlantic coast and British Isles are quite cold and soaked all year round, so their production was obviously quite low. Mediterranean fares a bit better, but in the end the European production from salt mining and sea salt harvesting couldn't cover the needs of growing population.
    Bit of a bad generalisation. Salt manufacture was a major industry in the late Iron Age Essex coast, and was viably done using the same methods since the Bronze Age and into the Roman period. All you need to do is heat the sea water. Look up the Red Hills of Essex.
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