Bronze and Iron Age salt production on the Italian Tyrrhenian coast: An overview

A synthesis of the current knowledge of the so-called Italian giacimenti a olle d’impasto rossiccio (reddish jar potsherd deposits) is presented. These sites are common along the Tyrrhenian side of Central Italy and are usually interpreted as salt-production sites, because of parallels with similar European specialised sites. In the latter, salt was obtained by boiling a brine in special disposable pottery, a technique known as briquetage. However, the analogies are not straightforward and alternative hypotheses, e.g. fish-processing, and a more complex intertwined economy have also been put forward. To solve the interpretation issues, we advocate to use a multidisciplinary approach involving quantification of the ceramics encountered, establishment of their morphological and functional typologies, and physico/chemical analyses to identify their use.