Salt Production in Central Italy from the Bronze Age to Augustus

Abstract

Salt has played an important role in human history since our earliest days as a species. It is an essential nutrient for our survival (and that of all animals) and is appreciated beyond its culinary value in a variety of industries. In Central Italy, salt production first occurred on a major scale in the Early Bronze Age, via a technique known as briquetage. Technological advancements in hydraulic engineering would eventually lead to the region producing salt via solar salterns, a more efficient method that relied on more specific environmental conditions. This project analyzes both methods of salt production, but especially the transition from briquetage to salterns, using both archaeological evidence and ancient literary sources. The primary tool used for this is data visualization, which facilitates the examination of statistical data through graphs to emphasize key periods in Central Italian history. Overall, the transition between salt production methods seems to revolve around the area at the mouth of the Tiber River, a region contested by Rome and Veii early in the history of both states. At some point in the 9th or 10th centuries BCE, the sudden introduction of salt water into a nearby industrial area appears to have led to the foundation of solar salterns, inciting conflict between Rome and Veii surrounding control of the essential resource.