A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of halophilic

microorganisms A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

, primarily haloarchaea but also other halophiles including algae and bacteria. Salterns usually begin with seawater as the initial source of

brine Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...

but may also use natural saltwater springs and streams. The water is evaporated, usually over a series of ponds, to the point where

sodium chloride Sodium chloride , commonly known as salt (although sea salt also contains other chemical salts), is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. With molar masses of 22.99 and 35.45 g ...

and other salts precipitate out of the saturated brine, allowing pure salts to be harvested. Where complete evaporation in this fashion was not routinely achievable due to weather, salt was produced from the concentrated brine by boiling the brine.

Background

Earliest examples of pans used in the solution mining of salt date back to

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

times and the pans were made of ceramics known as briquetage. Later examples were made from lead and then iron. The change from lead to iron coincided with a change from wood to coal for the purpose of heating the brine. Brine would be pumped into the pans, and concentrated by the heat of the fire burning underneath. As crystals of salt formed these would be raked out and more brine added. In warmer climates no additional heat would be supplied, the sun's heat being sufficient to evaporate off the brine. One of the earliest salterns for the harvesting of salt is argued to have taken place on

Xiechi Lake Xiechi Lake (), also called Yuncheng yanchi (Yuncheng Salt Lake) is the largest natural lake in Shanxi in Northern China. It is a saline lake used for production of salt. In the summertime intense light and heat cause the algae ''Dunaliella sali ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

, China by 6000 BC. Strong archaeological evidence of salt making dating to

2000 BC The 20th century BC was a century that lasted from the year 2000 BC to 1901 BC. The period of the 2nd Millennium BC Events * c. 2000 BC: ** Farmers and herding, herders traveled south from Ethiopia and settled in Kenya. ** Dawn of the Capa ...

is found in the ruins of Zhongba at

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

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* Archaeology, arable landscapes and drainage ...Excavations at the

Bourne–Morton Canal The Bourne–Morton Canal is an archaeological feature to the north-east of Bourne in Lincolnshire, England. In old maps and documents, it is known as the Old Ea. It was a 6.5 kilometer artificial waterway linking the dry ground at Bourne to ei ...

and the Roman saltern recorded.
Archaeology, arable landscapes and drainage in the Fenland of Eastern England.
* A medieval saltern mound at Millfields Caravan Park, Bramber,Wes
Medieval (13th-16th century) saltern mound

Definition of Saltern Mound
{{Salt topics *

Background

See also

References

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