Salt of the Earth Part 2: uses around the ancient world

Salt of the Earth 

Part 2

Salt use in the ancient world 

Salt has been used and is widely used around the world. Let’s look at the main places in our past that have valued salt and its properties.

Salt in Ancient Egypt

Salt had many uses in ancient Egypt.

Perhaps its most famous role was in mummification. Egyptian embalmers used natron, a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and related salts, to dry the body.

Natron was not simply ordinary table salt. Its ability to remove moisture was crucial to Egyptian embalming techniques.

Natural natron deposits were particularly important in Egypt’s desert regions, including the Wadi Natrun.

Salt and salt-containing substances were also used in Egyptian food preservation and various practical and ritual contexts.

The Egyptian example demonstrates that the word “salt” historically covered a broader family of mineral substances than modern sodium chloride alone.

Salt in Ancient Greece

The ancient Greeks valued salt both as a food substance and as a commodity.

Salt was used to preserve fish, meat and other foods, and salted foods were important in long-distance trade.

Salt also acquired symbolic importance. It could be associated with hospitality, friendship and purification.

Greek religious practices included the use of salt in various ritual contexts. Salt could accompany offerings and was sometimes associated with purification.

The Greek word hals—meaning salt or sea—also survives in words associated with the sea and salt.

Salt in Ancient Rome

Salt became particularly important within Roman society.

The Romans used salt extensively for preserving food, including meat and fish. Salted foods were practical provisions for soldiers, travellers and urban populations.

Salt production and distribution also became matters of economic organisation.

The Via Salaria, the Salt Road, is traditionally associated with the movement of salt from the coast toward Rome. The existence of such routes demonstrates how valuable salt was as a trade commodity.

The modern word salary is sometimes popularly connected with Roman soldiers supposedly being paid directly in salt. This is an oversimplification. The Latin salarium was associated with an allowance or payment connected with salt, but there is no good basis for the popular claim that Roman soldiers routinely received their wages in physical salt.

Salt in China

China developed sophisticated salt-production industries very early in its history.

Chinese salt production included the use of salt wells and brine extraction, particularly in Sichuan.

One remarkable technique involved drilling deep wells to reach underground brine. Brine could then be brought to the surface and boiled to produce salt.

By the imperial period, salt had become an important source of government revenue. The Chinese state periodically established systems through which the production and sale of salt were controlled or heavily regulated.

This made salt an important example of how an everyday necessity could become a major political and economic commodity.

Salt in India

Salt has been central to South Asian history for thousands of years.

India possesses extensive coastlines, salt marshes, inland saline regions and mineral deposits, allowing salt to be produced in several different ways.

Traditional production has included solar evaporation of seawater and salt extraction from saline soils and lakes.

Salt also has an important place in Indian religious and cultural traditions. It appears in food customs, purification practices, folk medicine and symbolic traditions.

In more recent history, salt acquired enormous political significance during British colonial rule because the colonial government imposed taxes and restrictions upon salt production.

Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt March of 1930 famously challenged the British salt laws. Gandhi and his followers travelled to the coast and symbolically produced salt, turning an everyday substance into a powerful symbol of resistance to colonial authority.

Salt in Medieval Europe

During the Middle Ages, salt remained one of Europe’s most important commodities.

Salt was essential because refrigeration did not exist. Salting allowed meat, fish and other foods to survive through winter or to be transported over considerable distances.

Important salt-producing centres developed around coastal salt marshes, salt mines and brine springs.

Salt routes crossed Europe, linking production centres with inland markets.

The mineral was also valuable because it could be stored indefinitely under suitable conditions. This made salt particularly useful as a trade commodity.

Salt and Food Preservation

The most important historical use of salt was probably preservation.

Salt works by reducing the amount of water available to microorganisms. A sufficiently salty environment can inhibit the growth of many bacteria and fungi responsible for food spoilage.

Different cultures therefore developed their own salted foods.

Examples include:

• salted and cured meats;
• salt cod;
• salted herring;
• olives preserved in brine;
• pickled vegetables;
• salted eggs;
• fermented fish products;
• salted cheese;
• cured pork and bacon.

Salt was often combined with other preservation methods, including drying, smoking and fermentation.

The result was a remarkably effective food-preservation technology that supported travel, trade, military campaigns and survival through periods when fresh food was scarce.

Salt in Medicine

Salt has also been used medicinally throughout history.

Ancient and medieval medical traditions employed salt and saline preparations for wounds, skin conditions and various digestive complaints.

Salt water could be used for cleansing wounds, although historical medical practices were not always safe by modern standards.

Salt also became important in the development of oral rehydration therapy. Modern oral rehydration solutions use carefully measured quantities of sodium and glucose to help replace fluids and electrolytes lost through diarrhoeal illness.

This modern medical use should be distinguished from historical folk remedies: excessive salt consumption can contribute to health problems, particularly high blood pressure in susceptible individuals.

In the next post I will be looking at how salt is used in paganism, witchcraft and the Occult.