The weather in the UK has been very aggressive over the past month with pulses of Atlantic storm surges sweeping across the Atlantic. There has been widespread flooding and coastal erosion. Most spectacularly has been the effect of the waves at Aberystwyth esplanade.
Ecosal-UK is writing round to all our contacts to get an impression about how salt making sites and salt marshes have stood up to the intense effects of high spring tides, deep low pressure systems and storm force SW winds.
If you have any images or observations please send them in to saltmaster@ecosal-uk.org.uk
A blog for those interested in the heritage and culture of traditional salt making in the UK.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Wednesday, 18 December 2013
TAG 2013 - Tag-on-Sea at Bournemouth University
Ecosal-UK contributed to a session at the Theoretical Archaeology Group annual conference being held at Bournemouth University. Look out for links to the results of the conference here.
Saturday, 9 November 2013
New Book by Anthony Harding
Salt in Prehistoric Europe
Anthony Harding | 2013
€ 29,95 |
ISBN: 9789088902017
Imprint: Sidestone Press | Format: 182x257mm Paperback | 162 pp. | Language: English | 12 illus. (bw) | 49 illus. (fc) | Category: Archaeology, Prehistoric Europe, Salt
Read for free or purchase PDF in the Sidestone e–library
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Salt Session at TAG-on-Sea : TAG 2013
The half day session on salt will include six presentations and a workshop.
For details of the whole conference, booking details and local accommodation go to the TAG-on-Sea site.
SESSION DETAILS
Exploring ancient and traditional salt-production sites in their environs and moving towards better ways of investigation and interpretation: New Research
Session Abstract:
This session provides an overview of current and new approaches to the
investigation and interpretation of ancient and traditional salt-production
sites. Earlier studies of salt-production have often
been limited by a lack of well-preserved sites and a bias in the evidence
preserved, resulting in a heavy reliance on briquetage form studies. Fortunately, the investigation and revealing
of new sites in the last two decades, as well as new projects exploring and
preservation of traditional salt-production, which can greatly inform on
ancient techniques and organisation, have significantly accelerated and
expanded our understanding of this important industry. This session firstly explores the creation of
Ecosal; a project bringing together traditional salt-production sites and salt
makers from different countries. Then
there is an emphasis on research which aims to contextualise earlier
salt-production in their greater environs, including organisation of
production, the impact of production on surrounding landscape, and the use of
modern techniques (LIDAR) to enrich the number of known sites as well as their
position in the landscape. New
approaches to briquetage studies will also presented, which aims to explore new
ways in which this material can be used to reconstruct technique, as well as
use of space (in the workshop). New
ways of sampling sites will also be discussed.
At the end of the session there will also be the opportunity for the
speakers and the audience to contribute to a workshop focused on pragmatic and
much needed strategies to investigate and make sense of salt-production sites
in the archaeological record. This will
include discussion and debate about the best way that this can be achieved, and
the issues arising when working with these often challenging sites.
Workshop Abstract:
Realising potential and getting the most out of the site: Exploring the Identification, processing and
interpretation of a prehistoric/Roman salt-production site. This workshop will provide an arena for the sharing
of experience gained from the archaeological investigation and subsequent
interpretation of these sites.
Identifying and making sense of these often fragmented sites can be
challenging, as well as the processing of potentially vast quantities of briquetage. However, with a prior understanding of the
way space can be used in these sites, as well as the types of features that can
be expected, and their relationship to each part of the process, it is possible
to reconstruct much about these sites, even with limited evidence. The method of processing these sites is also
important, and sampling of briquetage as well as the removal of systematic
environmental samples, can greatly enrich understanding of these sites. Finally, the significance and position of
these sites in the wider landscape and environs, which has been traditionally
less focused upon in the past, can provide much context as to the modes of
organisation, as well as areas of more intense production, and the potential
environmental impact of these sites on their surroundings. This workshop provides an opportunity to
share key information and new methods, as well as an opportunity for questions
and aims to ‘demystify’ these sites and look toward the creation of a framework
for future work.
Chair: TBC
SPEAKERS/PAPERS:
1.
Andrew
Fielding :
Introducing
ECOSAL-UK : What can a new body do?
2.
Sarah-Jane
Hathaway :
The creation of new modes as a
tool for exploring the organisation of Iron Age and Romano-British
salt-production in southern Britain
3.
Tom Lane:
Lidar,
Landscape and the pursuit of coastal salterns
4.
Nicholas Branch, Naomi Riddiford, Larent Oliver, Christopher Green, Simon Armitage, Kevin Williams, Rob Batchelor and Mathew Smith:
Evaluating the environmental impact
of prehistoric industrial scale salt production in the Seille Valley, NE France
5.
Mark Brisbane, John Beavis, Brian Astin, Iain Green :
Bitter
briquetage: Some preliminary thoughts on the role of fired clay in the removal
of bitterns in salt
6.
Frank Green:
Chlorites,
sulphites, silica and carbon; sampling Lymington’s salt works
7.
WORKSHOP and
discussion: 90 minutes
Friday, 1 November 2013
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
TAG-on-Sea the 34th Theoretical Archaeology Group Meeting Dec 2013
Details to follow here about the Salt Session at the 34th Theoretical Archaeology Group meeting being held at Bournemouth University 16-17 December 2013.
Sessions being coordinated by Andrew Fielding, Mark Brisbane and Sarah-Jane Hathaway.
A half day session of short talks and a Workshop.
Sessions being coordinated by Andrew Fielding, Mark Brisbane and Sarah-Jane Hathaway.
A half day session of short talks and a Workshop.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
16th Salt Festival at L'Escala, Costa Brava, Spain
Description of the Festival of Salt at L'Escala
Held on the third weekend of September
ON THE BEACH
THE ARRIVAL OF THE SALT SHIP
Pailebot Santa Eulàlia from the Maritime Museum of Barcelona.
The Festa de la Sal was created in 1997 to commemorate the 3rd centenary of the town’s Alfolí de la Sal, the old salt storehouse where this once costly mineral arrived by boat from the salt pans of Ibiza and Torrevella before being distributed to towns inland. In homage to its origins as a fishing and salt-distributing village, the town of L’Escala relives a day in the life of the old port from over a hundred years ago.
THE NYACRES DANCE
This is a fisherman’s dance from the Bay of Roses. The dance takes place around a boat to the sound of a guitar in order to celebrate a good fishing day. The dancers follow the rhythm using castanet type “nyacres” which are made from seashells known as curculles.
THE DANCE OF THE DRAGON
This is a fisherman’s dance which was performed on the beach to herald a bountiful catch. According to Amades the dance actually comes from L’Escala. Local writer Víctor Català wrote about the dance at the beginning of the 20th century. The fact that the leading dancer carried a lighted torch in his mouth in order to burn the dragon’s tail has meant that the dance lasted as an event in the local carnival.
THE FARANDOLA
This is an open dance which has formed part of the local Carnival in L’Escala since time immemorial. Its origin is attributed to the dance performed by the sailors who accompanied Theseus when they finally left the Minotaur’s labyrinth using Ariadne’s thread. An unlimited number of dancers hold each other’s hands and make a long chain, jumping and following the turns and twists of the leading dancer. One of the most spectacular parts of the dance is the “Cargol” or snail, when the dancers come close together, without letting go of each other in an explosion of joy. The dance was prohibited during the early years of Franco’s dictatorship. Dance teacher Josep Clos managed to recover the dance steps from the last surviving witnesses and he included it as part of the Farandola dance repertory.
Youtube video of Festival in 2011 and Festival in 2012
Held on the third weekend of September
ON THE BEACH
THE ARRIVAL OF THE SALT SHIP
Pailebot Santa Eulàlia from the Maritime Museum of Barcelona.
The Festa de la Sal was created in 1997 to commemorate the 3rd centenary of the town’s Alfolí de la Sal, the old salt storehouse where this once costly mineral arrived by boat from the salt pans of Ibiza and Torrevella before being distributed to towns inland. In homage to its origins as a fishing and salt-distributing village, the town of L’Escala relives a day in the life of the old port from over a hundred years ago.
THE NYACRES DANCE
This is a fisherman’s dance from the Bay of Roses. The dance takes place around a boat to the sound of a guitar in order to celebrate a good fishing day. The dancers follow the rhythm using castanet type “nyacres” which are made from seashells known as curculles.
THE DANCE OF THE DRAGON
This is a fisherman’s dance which was performed on the beach to herald a bountiful catch. According to Amades the dance actually comes from L’Escala. Local writer Víctor Català wrote about the dance at the beginning of the 20th century. The fact that the leading dancer carried a lighted torch in his mouth in order to burn the dragon’s tail has meant that the dance lasted as an event in the local carnival.
THE FARANDOLA
This is an open dance which has formed part of the local Carnival in L’Escala since time immemorial. Its origin is attributed to the dance performed by the sailors who accompanied Theseus when they finally left the Minotaur’s labyrinth using Ariadne’s thread. An unlimited number of dancers hold each other’s hands and make a long chain, jumping and following the turns and twists of the leading dancer. One of the most spectacular parts of the dance is the “Cargol” or snail, when the dancers come close together, without letting go of each other in an explosion of joy. The dance was prohibited during the early years of Franco’s dictatorship. Dance teacher Josep Clos managed to recover the dance steps from the last surviving witnesses and he included it as part of the Farandola dance repertory.
Youtube video of Festival in 2011 and Festival in 2012
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