SALT EXPLOITATION IN THE BRONZE AGE: THE EVIDENCE OF THE SALT MINES OF VILLAFÁFILA (ZAMORA)
Germán Delibes de Castro
Salt, as an essential commodity, has been highly prized throughout history, to the extent that it has rarely been referred to as "white gold". It is not surprising, therefore, that the great colonial powers reserved the exploitation of salt as a monopoly. This was the case, for example, of the medieval Christian monarchs in the case of the inland salt mines of Villafáfila in Zamora, whose exploitation is well documented in written sources from at least the 10th century AD.
The isolation of the Villafáfila lagoons from other salt deposits justifies their historical importance, which we now know, thanks to an archaeological research programme, dates back to at least the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. In fact, the excavations carried out at Molino Sanchón and Santioste prove the existence of salt production factories from the Copper and Bronze Ages, where it is possible to follow step by step and in detail the process of collecting salt water, the concentration of the salt by ignition and the final crystallisation of the salt 'breads' or 'cheeses' in specific drying sheds.
Germán Delibes de Castro
Professor of Prehistory at the University of Valladolid. He is a regular researcher on the megalithic phenomenon, the beginnings of metallurgy and pre-Roman goldsmithing, and has authored three hundred publications. He is currently directing archaeological excavations in the Chalcolithic pit enclosure of El Casetón de la Era (Villalba de los Alcores, Valladolid) and in the salt factory of Molino Sanchón (Villafáfila, Zamora).
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