Remnants of Salt Making Discovered

In the development of ancient societies, salt was an important building block. It was a crucial trading commodity, and by allowing food to be preserved it enabled empires to expand.

But salt itself is not preserved. Time and water wash it away, so solid archaeological evidence of salt production has rarely been discovered.

Now, researchers have found strong signs that salt was produced in central China in the first two millenniums B.C., during the dynastic period.