From 7500 BC to the 1st century BC. – The origins
The origins
The beginning of salt production in the Añana Salt Valley is linked to the progressive need of human beings to obtain the only edible stone in nature, salt.
During the last few years, the archaeological works that we are carrying out inside the salt exploitation have shown that the Salt Valley is a unique archive of the history of mankind. Specifically, a large part of the southern end of the salt flats is an extensive archaeological site that is providing relevant data from the last six millennia, which allows us to know when the systematic exploitation of the springs began, how the salt was obtained and how the salt workers lived in those times.
Research, still in progress, is informing us that the beginnings of salt production in the Añana Salt Valley date back to about 7,500 years ago. During prehistoric times, the salt pans had a very different appearance to what we can see today. This is because the production system was different. It was not based on the exposure of the brine from the springs to the atmospheric agents (sun and wind) but on the forced evaporation through the combustion of igneous materials.
These prehistoric salt factories correspond to a phenomenon known in Europe as “briquetage”. In the archaeological record it is identified by accumulations of waste where the remains of the salt activity are intermingled, especially ashes, with soils with traces of fire and ceramic fragments originating from the breakage of the vessels where the salt was crystallized.
In Añana, this production system was used by placing ceramic pots with brine over the fire until the liquid saturated. These vessels, which acted as molds, created compact nuclei of salt that had to be extracted by breaking the clay vessels.
The salt factory of the Valle Salado during this period was located in the initial part of the Valle Salado, not far from the salt water springs and next to the river bed. The salt workers who worked there did not live there, but moved to a higher and better defended area, as evidenced by the presence of a large deposit of this time in the term of La Isilla, located north of the town.
Campaniform ceramics of the Añana Salt Valley