Saltern
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A saltern was a type of clay hut used for early salt production. The huts had a hole in the roof to allow smoke to escape. Large fires were lit beneath clay troughs of brine to evaporate water leaving salt crystals. Sea water would not have been used in salterns, but rather brine produced by passing fresh water over salt-rich sand collected from beneath the sea and packed into clay troughs. In English archaeology, a saltern is a term used to describe an area used for salt making, especially in the East Anglian fenlands.
The term saltern also describes modern salt-making works, and contain hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but also other halophiles including algae and bacteria. Salterns usually begin with seawater as the initial source of brine but may also use groundwater or other water sources. The water is evaporated, usually over a series of ponds, to the point where NaCl and other salts precipate out of the saturated brine, allowing pure salts to be harvested.
Earliest examples of pans used in the solution mining of salt date back to prehistoric 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.
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- This article incorporates text from Dawlish.com, a site which allows free use of its content.
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