The Beaker salt production centre of Molino Sanchon II, Zamora, Spain.

Guerra-Doce, Elisa ; de Castro, German Delibes ; Abarquero-Moras, F. Javier 等

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Introduction

Salt is a mineral resource essential for human beings. It is used as a condiment to ensure our necessary daily intake, as a food preservative and as medicine, and it is important to the health of all livestock as a dietary supplement. It also plays a key role in leather tanning and cloth dyeing, among other industrial uses. Not surprisingly this white gold has been a highly valued commodity from prehistoric times onwards (Nenquin 1961; Denton 1982; Adshead 1992; Multhauf 1996; Kurlansky 2002).

Archaeological evidence, historical texts and ethnographic studies give insights into the methods employed for the collection and processing of salt in prehistoric Europe (Weller 2002b; Fielding & Fielding 2005; Monah et al. 2007; Weller et al. 2008). The usual techniques are mining of natural rock salt deposits (Barth 1982; Weller 2002a; Kern et al. 2009), or the evaporation of saline solutions, such as sea water (Hocquet & Sarrazin 1986; Escacena Carrasco et al. 1996) or natural brine obtained from inland saline water bodies (Riehm 1961; Morere 2007; Nikolov 2008; Weller et al. 2008). There is also an extraction procedure from salt-enriched plants, the final step of which requires the evaporation of water to precipitate salt crystals (Adshead 1992). Evaporation can be carried out by the heat of the sun or by boiling in open pans over wood fires.

Ethnographic analogies and archaeological evidence suggest that a number of stages are followed (Delibes et al. 1998) (Figure 1). Brine is poured into coarse ceramic containers placed over fires. The brine may be boiled dry to form a salt paste, or concentrated and transferred to small vessels placed on supports made of raw clay which stand over a hearth of glowing embers. The hot brine is then allowed to cool down gradually, permitting salt crystals to form. Once the crystallisation process is completed, the small pots are finally broken open in order to obtain hard and transportable salt cakes. This processing technique involves the utilisation of ceramic pots and earthen implements which differ hardly at all between those found in traditional salt production centres from ancient cultures and those from modern ethnographic contexts elsewhere in the world (Flad et al. 2005; Flad 2007).

The procedure leaves abundant archaeological evidence through its waste products in the form of ash, structural remains and briquetage. This latter term, coined by the French engineer de la Sauvagere when working at the production centre of Marsal in the mid eighteenth century AD (de la Sauvagere 1740), refers to the massive deposits of ceramic and unfired clay implements associated with boiling brine. After use these are broken and discarded onsite, generating refuse heaps that can range up to several metres in height. One of the most impressive accumulations of briquetage in prehistoric Europe is in the valley of the river Seille (Lorraine region, north-eastern France), an Iron Age salt production area where around 4 000 000[m.sup.3] of briquetage were dumped forming artificial hills up to 500m long and on the top of which were later built the urban centres of Marsal, Moyenvic and Vic-sur-Seille (Olivier & Kovacik 2006). This method of salt production disappeared in Europe when the Romans replaced the ceramic and earthen implements with lead pans, and briquetage no longer accumulated as a result (Julich 2005). Nevertheless, this traditional processing technique is still employed today in rural communities around the world (Tijania & Loehnert 2004).

We present here an example of European salt processing that can be dated back to the earliest Bronze Age, interpreted in detail with the help of ethnographic and archaeological parallels. Las Lagunas de Villafafila is a group of shallow saltwater lakes located in the province of Zamora in the north-west of Spain. The lakes are known to have been important for salt panning from at least the tenth to the end of the sixteenth century AD, when this activity was no longer profitable and was suddenly abandoned (Rodriguez 2000). Recent results from a surface survey suggest that the exploitation of salt in this area can be traced back into prehistoric times. In this paper, we summarise the results of an ongoing research project focusing on the excavation of Molino Sanchon II, interpreted as a salt production centre of the Beaker period (earliest Bronze Age).

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Geographical setting

The nature reserve of Las Lagunas de Villafafila is situated in the province of Zamora, (41[degrees] 45'- 41[degrees] 52'N, 5[degrees] 30'- 5[degrees] 39'W). The reserve, which occupies an area of 32 682ha, comprises a collection of shallow saltwater lakes which rest on clay soils surrounding the semi-endorheic basin of the river Salado (Spanish for salty) and its main tributary streams: Las Felipas, Riego, Tio Hachero, La Huerga, La Requera, Las Vacas, Pozuelo, Robledales and Las Cumbres. It represents one of the most important wetlands in north-west Spain. The main lakes are Salina Grande (194ha) in the municipality of Villafafila; Barillos (118ba) between Villafafila and Revellinos; and Las Salinas (70ha) between Villarrin de Campos and Otero de Sariegos. There are also other lesser pools such as Las Paneras, La Rosa and La Fuente in Revellinos; Villardon, La Paviosa and Villarrin in Villarrin de Campos; and Parva and Rual in Villafafila, among others (ESA 2003).

The water level fluctuates depending on the phase of the hydrologic cycle with a high volume of water in the rainy season and a low water level in the summer. In a wet year, the flooded area can cover 600ba. These fluctuations are also affected by modern drainage. The seasonal variations affect the salinity, which increases as the water availability declines and concentrates to form salt crusts during the dry season (Casado & Montes 1995). The description of the coastal salt ponds in Patagonia by Charles Darwin during his voyage on HMS Beagle fits perfectly with Villafafila: 'One day I rode to a large salt lake, or Salina, which is distant fifteen miles from the town. During the winter it consists of a shallow lake of brine, which in summer is converted into a field of snow-white salt' (Darwin 1839). The area lies on the detritic facies of the continental Miocene and, more specifically, on sediments corresponding to the Vindobonien (Comin & Alonso 1988). Strata of impermeable sandy clays with pebbles of quartzite or quartz originate from the Tertiary period and are all highly salinised (ESA 2003: 247).

The Villafafila lake complex has other resources, being home to a wide diversity of aquatic, steppe and migratory birds. It hosts one of the largest populations of great bustard (Otis tarda) in the world with over 2500 individuals, and many other flocks of waterside birds: common crane, wide varieties of geese and ducks, white stork, black winged stilt, lesser kestrel and western marsh harrier, among others (Palacios & Rodriguez 1999).

The prehistory of the Villafafila wetland

The field-walking surveys show that the Villafafila landscape was intensely occupied from the Copper Age to the end of the sixteenth century AD (Figure 2). There is some evidence for sporadic activity during the Neolithic, consisting of pottery and stone axes which have been found at some distance from the lakes. By contrast, from the Copper Age onwards a close spatial relationship between the wetland and the archaeological remains can be discerned. Four pre-Beaker Copper Age sites have been identified on slight hillocks close to the pools, and a similar pattern is observed during the Beaker horizon, when sites tend to be located on platforms over the lakes themselves. It is during the Early Bronze Age that occupation of the landscape increases dramatically, with a total of 26 sites detected so far, mainly situated on the lakeshores. There are also some sites corresponding to the time span between the Middle Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age, although a reduction in the intensity of occupation is observed in comparison to the previous period.

It was suspected that, like their later counterparts, these prehistoric sites might also be dedicated to salt production. They lay near well-documented medieval salt factories in areas subject to flooding and the surface finds consisted largely of briquetage. Prehistoric salt production was eventually confirmed by excavation at the site of Santioste, Otero de Sariegos, where structures related to the processing of salt through boiling brine were well preserved. They consisted of rectangular clay basins associated with ashes and charcoal, a number of clay supports found in their original positions and the remains of briquetage. Santioste also produced three small sherds of Beaker pottery. There was also a domestic area where two huts were indicated by a number of postholes (Figure 3). Two samples of charcoal were collected, from a kiln and from one of the huts, and radiocarbon dated to the later third millennium BC (Beta 50709:3780 [+ or -] 80 BP = 2466-1981 cal BC and Beta 50710: 3750 [+ or -] 80 BP = 2457-1953 cal BC).

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These features date to the Early Bronze Age and they appear to be contemporary with a burial found in the latest occupation phase of the site containing the skeleton of a female child aged 13-14 years (undated), with a plain hemispheric bowl, several bone beads, three silver plaques and an ivory V-perforated button. A fragment of a wristguard was unearthed at the bottom of the pit but has no relationship with the grave. This was interpreted as indicating the existence of a privileged minority which attained its high social status by controlling the production and distribution of salt (Delibes 1993; Delibes et al. 1998).

The excavations at the Beaker site of Molino Sanchon II

In 2009, a new multi-disciplinary research project was set up to study the production of salt at the Villafafila lake complex in prehistoric times. Three archaeological sites of different periods were excavated in order to provide a diachronic perspective on the evolution of salt processing in the area: the Beaker site of Molino Sanchon II, the Early Bronze Age site of Santioste, which was re-excavated, and the Iron Age site of Fuente Salina (Figure 2). In this paper we will focus on the excavation of the Beaker site.

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Among the Beaker sites identified at Villafafila, Molino Sanchon II was chosen because it seemed to have good prospects of success. It is located on the shores of a small stream connecting the two largest lakes (Barillos and Salina Grande) and a salt factory was operated at the same place during the Middle Ages. On the surface were abundant remains of briquetage and over 100 Beaker sherds corresponding to the Ciempozuelos variant, one of the Late Regional Styles in Iberia (Figure 4).

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We opened a test trench divided into six small areas, of which only four (A, B, D & F: an area of 36[m.sup.2]) were completely excavated, owing to the presence of a previously unknown early medieval cemetery. Three main phases of activity were identified. Phase 1 represented the brine-boiling establishment of the Beaker period with deposits up to 0.8m thick containing briquetage and Beaker pottery. In Phase 2, which followed shortly, the site was covered with a layer of white clay sediment and evidence for brine-boiling is restricted to a small and precise area. Phase 3 corresponds to the early medieval cemetery and is not discussed further.

The Beaker period salt working

Founded on the bedrock clay, Phase 1 of the activity at Molino Sanchon II consisted of several layers (between 0.5 and 0.8m thick in total) of ashes, charcoal and small mud pellets, found together with abundant pottery sherds and fragments of clay supports, two of which remained intact in their original position on a mud platform (Figure 5). Animal bones were extremely scarce in contrast to other contemporary sites in central Iberia.

The great majority of the archaeological remains consisted of briquetage, such as fragments of clay pedestals and thousands of sherds from roughly-made plain vessels broken in situ. The process must have involved large, flat-bottomed ceramic containers. We did not find the smaller type of ceramic pot in which salt cakes were presumably crystallised. While we do not rule out the possibility of finding some of these containers after the restoration process, salt moulds at Molino Sanchon II may have been manufactured from organic materials covered with mud, as occurs in other traditional salt works elsewhere (Reinecke & Nguyen 2008). In fact, there is evidence for basketry from impressions on the bases of some pots. The area investigated was probably dedicated to evaporation, where ceramic vessels containing supersaturated hot brine were placed on clay supports over glowing embers to obtain the salt cakes.

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Brine would have been collected from holes dug down to reach the phreatic level (Figure 6), like those located at sectors lA and 1F, measuring 1m in depth in the latter case. There was also evidence for domestic constructions within the excavated area as indicated by a number of stakeholes. These would have belonged to wattle-and-daub structures, consisting of a framework of withies entwined with reeds and rushes, both sides of which are coated with mud, since many of the clay lumps recovered at the trench carry well-preserved impressions of wooden branches. It is tempting to view these structures as relating to the drying areas and functioning as windbreaks (Figure 7).

Beaker sherds, all of them attributable to the Ciempozuelos style, are abundant in the excavation area. Fine ware of the kind more frequently found in tombs, together with more common Beaker pottery, such as huge storage vessels, occurs almost everywhere in spatial relation to salt processing areas (Figure 8), and a fairly complete pot was found in the fill of the well-pit in sector F (Figure 9).

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At the end of Phase I, the excavation area was covered with remains of briquetage. In contrast to the earlier levels, these refuse concentrations are found in a secondary position mixed with ash and charcoal, and mud platforms with clay supports are completely absent. All this seems to suggest that activities related to boiling brine no longer took place in this area. This accumulated refuse may, therefore, be the result of the cleaning of another drying area that was functioning elsewhere. Likewise, Beaker pottery was now scarce and may well be residual from lower levels. A bed of white clay sediment, forming a compact and hard surface was extended over most of the excavation area (Phase 2). h produced abundant potsherds and briquetage bur only a handful of Beaker sherds. A number of pits, some for them lined with mud and filled exclusively with clay, may have been used as deposits for brine. Only one of these pits contained some pottery, but the others are devoid of artefacts. Evidence for firing during Phase 2 is restricted to the south-east comer of sector 1AB.

Chronology

The exploitation of salt at Molino Sanchon II corresponds to the Beaker horizon, on the basis of radiocarbon determinations on five charcoal samples, which cluster in the second hall of the third millennium BC (Figure 10). Four of these date the earliest phase of activity at Molino Sanchon II (Phase 1). The earliest date, obtained from a piece of charcoal from a pit with Beaker pottery, is PoZ-35226:3910 [+ or -] 35 BP = 2484-2289 cal BC. Considering that this feature is located at the top of the stratigraphic sequence for Phase I, this seems to suggest that the pit was filled with debris from a previous drying area, functioning elsewhere. Evidence for exploitation of salt at the excavation area dates this activity at the end of the third millennium cal BC, according to the radiocarbon determinations of the other charcoal samples collected from the well-pit in sector 1F (PoZ-35252:3835 [+ or -] 35 BP = 2459-2154 cal BC), a drying area with Beaker pottery (PoZ-35227:3830q [+ or -] 35 BP = 2459-2150 cal BC) and a refuse area containing briquetage and Beaker pottery (PoZ-35223:3765 [+ or -] 35 BP = 2292-2041 cal BC). The white clay layer of Phase 2 was laid down soon after the brine-boiling activities ceased at most of the excavation area, according to the radiocarbon determination on a piece of charcoal (PoZ-35224:3745 [+ or -] 30 BP = 2279-2037 cal BC).

Discussion

The density of landscape occupation at the Villafafila lake complex increases dramatically from the third millennium BC onwards. The archaeological evidence suggests that this densely settled system of small sites at Villafafila in prehistoric times was the result of the flourishing activities associated with the exploitation and distribution of salt. At Molino Sanchon II salt production was underway by the second half of the third millennium BC. At this period, brine taken from wells was evaporated in coarseware pans directly over burning firewood, the method contrasting with Bronze Age (Santioste) and Iron Age (Fuente Salina) salt processing, where excavators have found kilns.

Provisional interpretations may take us a little further into the social and ideological context. The presence of large amounts of Beaker pottery at this salt production centre has been seen as a symbolic way of claiming property rights over a profitable activity, in a similar way to sites in Iberia where Beaker pottery clusters in metalworking areas (Delibes & dei Val Recio 2008; Guerra et al. in press). The nearly complete por found in the well-pit (Area F) may be the result of a ritual practice, a kind of votive offering deliberately deposited in an act directed at communication with supernatural powers (Osborne 2004; Bradley 2005). It is noteworthy that, in the same context, there was found a Beaker sherd corresponding to so-called symbolic pottery, some motifs of which are shared with Iberian schematic art. There is also evidence for the deliberate deposition of Beaker pottery in pits that appear to belong to the moment when the activities related to boiling brine at Molino Sanchon II came to an end, suggesting a ritual practice in relation to the closing off of the drying area.

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In view of the data given above, we suggest that the extraction of salt may have become an important activity during the Beaker Horizon in Spain.

Acknowledgements

Our research project La explotacion de la sal en Villafafila, Zamora is part of the programme Cooperacion transfronteriza Espana-Portugal, funded by the European Commission through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This project is being conducted by the Department of Prehistory (University of Valladolid, Spain), Consejeria de Cultura y Turismo de la Junta de Castilla and Leon, and Aratikos Arqueologos S.L. The authors would like to thank Alison Sheridan, Antonio Gilman and Denis Morin for their comments on a preliminary draft of this paper.

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Elisa Guerra-Doce (1) *, German Delibes de Castro (1), F. Javier Abarquero-Moras (1), Jesus M. del Val-Recio (2) & Angel L. Palomino-Lazaro (3)

(1) Departamento de Prehistoria, Universidad de Valladolid, Plaza del Campus s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain (Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected])

(2) Direccion General de Patrimonio Cultural, Consejeria de Cultura y Turismo, Junta de Castilla y Leon, Avda. Monasterio de Nuestra Senora de Prado s/n, 47014 Valladolid, Spain (Email: [email protected])

(3) Aratikos Arqueologos, Estacion 37 2[degrees] A, 47004 Valladolid Spain (Email: [email protected])

* Author for correspondence