Salt Exploitation in Roman Histria and Dalmatia: An Introduction to the Archaeological Research

Abstract

This article summarizes the available information on salt production on the Croatian coast in antiquity. In the Roman world, salt was produced by urban settlements, villas and fish-salting facilities. The majority of Roman villas on the eastern Adriatic shore likely had their own saltpans, from where they extracted salt for their own needs. Salt exploitation and the making of fish sauces were closely related. For the moment, we lack clear evidence of fish processing facilities on the eastern Adriatic coast. Nevertheless, we can imagine that numerous Roman fishponds were connected to salt production sites. Locally produced fish-salting amphorae also provide indirect archaeological evidence of fish processing. Because of the still low anthropization of large parts of the Croatian shore, many archaeological remains of historical saltpans, both underwater and on the coast, survive to the present day, which makes the Croatian shore an exceptional location for studying the history of salt production in the Mediterranean. A first synthesis of the archaeological investigations conducted on saltpan sites in Croatia is presented. Ongoing research will hopefully soon provide further interesting elements about the salt history of this area.