A Pinch of Salt in the Prehistoric Eastern Carpathian Mountains (Romania)

Olivier Weller
Maison de l’Archéologie et de l’Ethnologie, UMR 8215 Trajectoires, Nanterre

Robin Brigand
Maison de l’Archéologie et de l’Ethnologie, UMR 8215 Trajectoires, Nanterre

Gheorghe Dumitroaia
Complexul Muzeal Judeţean Neamţ, Piatra Neamţ

Daniel Garvăn
Muzeul Județean Buzău

Roxana Munteanu
Muzeul Județean Buzău

Abstract interactions, as well as the social context and the

For ten years, Franco-Romanian research on salt
exploitation in the Eastern Carpathians (Moldova) has
allowed us to multiply approaches (archaeology,
ethnology, history, geography, palaeoenvironment,
chemistry...) to the study of salt resources (saline
springs, rock salt) and their exploitation, beginning with
the first Neolithic and still in progress. From two key
areas that possess remarkable archaeological potential
and which reveal a chronological framework covering
the whole of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods
(6000-3500 BC), from our knowledge of settlement
patterns around salt exploitation, and from their highly
informative palaeoenvironmental potential, it is possible
to propose several models of human settlement and
exploitation. Within these models, salt resources do not
have the same function in both time and space.
Keywords
Neolithic, Cucuteni, Moldavia, salt spring, excavation,
settlement pattern
With over 250 salt springs and a long tradition of
archaeological research, the sub-Carpathian area of
Moldavia (Eastern Romania) represents an ideal
framework to perform extensive research on a lost
object of archaeological research, namely salt.
By examining the type and nature of each salt resource,
the diversity of archaeological evidence (briquetage, fire
structure, charcoal accumulation, stone tools…), the
forms of salt working, and then the types of production
and territorial behaviour, we attempt to understand and
characterize the first forms of salt production (6000-
3500 BC), as well as to discuss their socio-economic
dimensions. A number of methodological approaches
are used (technology, archaeometry,
palaeoenvironmental studies, geoarchaeology,
ethnography, spatial analysis) in order to highlight the
techniques of production, the environmental
exchange system.
In the present paper, we highlight, after a brief history
of research, our archaeological studies in two key areas:
Hălăbutoaia-Ţolici and Slatina Cozla-Gârcina in Neamţ
County.
1. Current state of research
One of the most important salt resources in the region
has been the subject of archaeological and ethnographic
research since the 1980s. In particular, attention has
been focused on Poiana Slatinei-Lunca, where
archaeological evidence shows exploitation from the
Early Neolithic (early 6th millennium BC), intensifying
through the 5th and 4th millennia BC (Dumitroaia 1987,
1994; Weller and Dumitroaia 2005). Research on this
site and its landscape has been led by the Museum of
Piatra Neamţ (Alexianu et al. 1992; Monah and
Dumitroaia 2007). In 2003, after a first collaboration in
1995 as part of a PhD (O.W.), our French-Romanian
team began collaborating under the aegis of several
interdisciplinary programmes supported by the CNRS,
the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
Romanian CNCSIS, and developed different
approaches. In this sense, we mention the
geoarchaeology and palaeoenvironmental studies in
Lunca (Weller et al. 2008), archaeometry on
briquetages (Sandu et al. 2012), ethnoarchaeology
(Alexianu and Weller 2009; Alexianu et al. 2011),
spatial analysis in Moldavia (Weller et al. 2011;
Brigand et al. 2012; Brigand and Weller 2012).
Ten radiocarbon dates of 5900-5600 BC during the
Early Neolithic have shown that the oldest salt
exploitation known so far in Europe, and perhaps in the
world, is that at Lunca-Poiana Slatinei, Neamţ County,
Romania (Weller and Dumitroaia 2005; Weller et al.
2008). The production of ignigenous salt from salt-
water springs continued even later, during the Cucuteni

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 Olivier Weller, Robin Brigand, Gheorghe Dumitroaia, Daniel Garvăn, Roxana Munteanu

Figure 1. Salt at the feet of the Eastern Carpathians. Potential et prehistoric exploitation vestiges (6000-3500 BC).

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 A Pinch of Salt in the Prehistoric Eastern Carpathian Mountains (Romania)
culture, at the end of phase A, but very intensely during
Cucuteni B (Dumitroaia 1994). A series of more recent
discoveries brought new evidence about the use of salt-
water springs in Moldavia by the Chalcolithic
population as in Solca-Slatina Mare (Nicola et al. 2007)
or in Cucuieţi-Slatina Veche (Munteanu et al. 2007)
(see Alexianu et al. 2011 for more references).
At the same time, systematic field surveys since 2003
along the Eastern Carpathian mountains (4 counties)
have allowed the exploration and precise description of
around 280 salt resources (Weller et al. 2007, 2010, in
press) (Figure 1).
This salt resource database includes an inventory of all
mineral springs and rock salt outcrops recorded. For
each spring, the following criteria were documented:
access, rate of flow, pH, known uses, geographic
coordinates and chemical composition of the water, the
means of collection (pit, tree trunk wells, wooden
square wells, stone wells, complex composite wells,
cistern wells), the depth of the well, the rate of flow and
Figure 2. Plan of the archaeological area of Hălăbutoaia in Țolici (salt spring, marsh, and drillings).
Discovered in 2005 (Weller et al. 2007), salt production
is documented from the Early Neolithic to the end of
Chalcolithic period (5700-3500 BC) with an important 8
m-deep stratigraphy (Figure 3). This impressive
archaeological deposit is made up of multiple structures
and combustion waste related to the exploitation of the
salt spring. It also includes a significant amount of
pottery (more than 2 tons, the study of which is still in
progress). It includes salt moulds dating to the end of
Cucuteni A and a remarkable amount of type C
Cucuteni pottery (Munteanu and Garvăn 2012).
127
the current use (none, animal husbandry, hunting,
forage, food conservation, cheese industry or meat
curing, crystallised salt exploitation, therapeutic use,
milk curdling). In parallel, archaeological exploration
has allowed the recognition of six new sites of
prehistoric salt exploitation in the Subcarpathian region.
The site of Hălăbutoaia in Țolici (Weller et al. 2007,
Dumitroaia et al. 2008) has, however, certainly the most
potential from the perspectives of production technique,
of palaeoenvironmental data, and of exploitation impact
on the natural environment.
2. The site of Hălăbutoaia, Țolici (com. Petricani, Neamț)
The important salt spring of Hălăbutoaia (Figure 2) is
situated in the east part of the village of Țolici and 7 km
south of the famous archaeological site of Râpa lui
Bodai at Târpești (Marinescu-Bîlcu 1981), at the bottom
of a small U-shaped valley, in the central part of the
Slatina brook. Salt exploitation there was among the
earliest in Europe.
In 2007-2010, various core drillings were performed in
the salty swamp of the spring (Danu et al. 2010) and
numerous palaeoenvironmental studies were realized at
the archaeological site. Multi-proxy approaches around
the salt spring (sedimentology, pollen, non-pollen
palynomorphs) and in the salt workshop
(micromorphology, mineralogy, anthracology,
phytoliths, chemical analysis) are currently being
discussed, and they suggest a remarkable environmental
impact since the Early Neolithic and highlight salt
techniques and human interactions. Salt exploitation,
 Olivier Weller, Robin Brigand, Gheorghe Dumitroaia, Daniel Garvăn, Roxana Munteanu

Figure 3. Archaeological deposit and synthetic cross section of the SI drilling (Hălăbutoaia, Țolici).

Figure 4. Territorial control and access to the salt spring: visible areas starting from the habitats of
Râpa lui Bodai-Târpești and Şipot Mohorâtu-Țolici.

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 A Pinch of Salt in the Prehistoric Eastern Carpathian Mountains (Romania)
pastoral practices since Early Neolithic and farming during
Chalcolithic times are directly connected with these
variations (Weller et al., in prep.).
This salt exploitation is part of an exceptional
archaeological environment including the famous fortified
Neolithic site (Râpa lui Bodai-Târpești), less than 6 km
away (Figure 4). Established at the confluence of the Țolici
Valley with the Topoliţa, this site opens towards the
Moldova Valley and Neamț Valley via the Humulești
confluence. This ecotonal situation near the main
watercourses, incorporating both axes of circulation and
the most suitable land for agricultural activities, the
relationship with the exploited salt spring seems to have
contributed to the early occupation of Râpa lui Bodai
during the period of Band Linear Ceramic. Nevertheless,
ceramic artefacts from the Early Neolithic (Criș) observed
at Hălăbutoaia salt springs suggest the existence of
neighbouring sites, perhaps the Deleni-Grumazesti
settlement. During the pre-Cucuteni period, a
intensification of settlement can be observed in the
Topoliţa valley, associated with two important fortified
settlements: Râpa lui Bodai on one hand, and Dealul Valea
Seacă on the other. Regarding control over salt springs, a
hilltop settlement named Şipot Mohorâtu-Țolici was
established upstream of the confluence between the small
saline valley - which is almost visible 2 km upstream - and
the Ţolici valley. This hilltop settlement appears to have
functioned as a relay station between the exploited salt
spring and the village of Râpa lui Bodai-Târpeşti. During
the Cucuteni culture, the settlement pattern did not evolve
radically; elsewhere in Moldavia, there is a clear
dissemination of habitat that now colonizes all ecosystems.
Only the Topoliţa valley remained densely settled between
two federating poles: Râpa lui Bodai and downstream,
Locul Şcolii-Petricani. The abandonment of the site at Şipot
Mohorâtu shows the inclusion of the source in a defined
territory of salt acquisition that contrasts with the situation
in the previous period, when the emergence of a hilltop site
was directly related to the control and exploitation of the
resource. The relative isolation of the salt valley during this
period highlights the fact that, at least for Cucuteni,
establishing settlements near the exploited salt springs was
not as essential as controlling the access to these springs,
with the settlements being positioned downstream, at the
mouth of the valleys and often near confluences. The
Gârcina example emphasizes that salt springs are not
necessarily clearly visible from the settlements, but that
accessibility and the main valley are strictly controlled.
3. The site of Slatina Cozla, Gârcina
In 2005, another salt exploitation site was studied at
Gârcina on the slope north-north-west from the Cozla Hill,
very close to the salt spring of Slatina III. This site, though
significantly smaller than Poiana Slatinei in Lunca and
Hălăbutoaia in Țolici, revealed – through a small trench
(4 x 1 m) and eight core drillings executed in 2011 – an
archaeological deposit related to salt exploitation, ascribed
exclusively to the Cucuteni culture (Figure 5).
This deposit forms a small semi-circular hill about 15 m in
diameter, eroded on the west side, with 1.55 m maximum
height. Besides the levels of upper colluvial deposits that
129
include pottery sherds dating to the Early Bronze Age and
to Cucuteni B, two exploitation levels have been identified:
one dating to Cucuteni A2, less than 50 cm thick, without
any briquetage, and the other to Cucuteni B, about 70-80
cm thick, which includes briquetage and type C pottery
(Figure 6).
As in the case of other excavated salt exploitation sites
(Poiana Slatinei-Lunca, Hălăbutoaia-Țolici, Solca-Slatina
Mare and Cucuieți-Slatina Veche), the Cucuteni pottery is
abundant and consists of an accumulation of sherds. At
Gârcina, however, the pottery is less fragmentary and the
setting is better preserved than at Țolici, for instance. We
mention the discovery of two pre-Cucuteni III sherds out of
context, as well as the presence of Cucuteni A-B pottery at
the base of the Cucuteni B level. Several chemical
*analyses related to the pottery and to the ash layers of this
deposit are in progress; their purpose is to determine the
exploitation techniques and the quality of the salt.
Finally, this production site is part of a rich archaeological
environment, the north area of Piatra Neamț, well
documented for its dense Cucuteni settlement pattern
(Figure 7).
Despite salt exploitation demonstrated at Gârcina during
Cucuteni A2, B and perhaps A-B, it is interesting to
observe that there is no directly associated occupation,
except perhaps at 3 and 5 km from the stream confluence
of Slatina and Bistrita (Sarata, Trei Coline, Cozla in Piatra
Neamţ). Other settlements in the area seem to be more
directly associated with the salt resource: Dealul
Balaurului-Gârcina and Sarata-Dobreni salt springs,
Dobreni settlements, Slatina Dealul Florii salt springs, etc.
The question is, therefore, why precisely this spring was
exploited, when others seem to have been more accessible.
The high salinity of the source, its location along the
Cuejdiu valley and especially its central position, as well as
the proximity of the sites of Piatra Neamţ seem to have
justified its exploitation. Unlike the Hălăbutoaia salt
spring, the modest operation of Gârcina and the effective
control of the valleys of Cracău and Bistriţa from Cucuteni
there does not appear to have been a need for more
rigorous monitoring of this sector due to high density
settlement in the adjacent area.
Conclusions
As illustrated by this research in progress, the study of a
lost item such as salt needs manifold approaches. These
approaches should focus on the different types of waste, on
the fabrication techniques, on management and impact
upon the natural environment, as well as on production and
control methods. If salt represented a powerful economic
phenomenon at certain periods, our task nowadays is to
identify the attendant operations and social logistics. Far
from being homogeneous, the production of salt, or rather
of salt cakes, was probably an integral part of a broader
process of intensification of social relations
(Neolithization, transhumance, territorial appropriation,
intercultural conflicts …) and exchange systems, in which
control over salt resources, production and distribution of
salt cakes probably became a major preoccupation.
Olivier Weller, Robin Brigand, Gheorghe Dumitroaia, Daniel Garvăn, Roxana Munteanu

Figure 5. Plan of the archaeological area of Slatina Cozla II and III in Gârcina.

130
A Pinch of Salt in the Prehistoric Eastern Carpathian Mountains (Romania)

Figure 6. Cross section and SI drilling profiles (Slatina Cozla III, Gârcina).

131
 Olivier Weller, Robin Brigand, Gheorghe Dumitroaia, Daniel Garvăn, Roxana Munteanu
Figure 7. Salt springs and Cucuteni settlements within the Gârcina sector.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank for the support of the University
Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris, the Commission for Foreign
Excavations (French Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Exploitations pré- et protohistoriques du sel en
Roumanie orientale, O. Weller), the National Centre of
Scientific Research (CNRS, UMR 8215 Trajectoires) and
the National Council for Scientific Research in Romania
(project PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0825, 219/5.10.2011, The
ethno-archaeology of the salt springs and salt mountains
from the extra-Carpathian areas of Romania).
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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editor’s note (Marius Alexianu, Roxana-Gabriela Curcă, Vasile Cotiugă) ................................................ vii

Foreword (Marius Alexianu) ........................................................................................................................ ix

Part I. Anthropology of Salt in the World

Marius Alexianu, Anthropology of Salt: a First Conceptual Approach ......................................................... 1

Sebastian Fink, The Two Faces of Salt in Mesopotamia ................................................................................ 3

Bernard Moinier, Salt History or Salt in History? ....................................................................................... 11

Alexandra Comșa, Salts in the Passage to the After Life in Ancient and Recent Times ............................... 35

Mihaela Paraschiv, Salt in the Adagia of Erasmus of Rotterdam ................................................................. 39

Mihaela Paraschiv, A Latino-Hispanic Paroemiological Saline “Feast”,

by Bernardino Gomez Miedes (Commentariorum de sale libri V) ............................................................... 45

Răzvan Victor Pantelimon, Traditional Production of Salt in Chile. The Case of Cáhuil Lagoon .............. 51

Ileana Oana Macari, Salt in Magical Procedures ......................................................................................... 59

Ludmila Bejenaru, Salt as a Metaphor ......................................................................................................... 63

Tilman B. Drüeke, Bernard Moinier, Salt and Health ................................................................................. 67

Lăcrămioara Ochiuz, Saline Aerosols: from Speleotherapy to Halotherapy ................................................ 91

Part II. Anthropology of Salt in Romania

Gheorghe Romanescu, The Perception of Salt Springs

in the Romanian Geographic and Geologic Literature ................................................................................ 99

 Dan Monah  , Salt Springs: Places for Salt Recrystallization

and Ritual Centres for Exchange with Steppe Populations ....................................................................... 111

Nicolae Ursulescu, The Role of the Salt Supply in the Location

of Neolithic and Eneolithic Settlements in Moldavia (Romania) ............................................................... 121

Olivier Weller, Robin Brigand, Gheorghe Dumitroaia, Daniel Garvăn, Roxana Munteanu,
A Pinch of Salt in the Prehistoric Eastern Carpathian Mountains (Romania) .......................................... 125

Constantin Preoteasa, Salt Exploitation and Valorisation by the Human Communities

of the Precucuteni – Cucuteni – Tripolye Cultural Complex ..................................................................... 135

Gheorghe Lazarovici, Cornelia-Magda Lazarovici, Vessels for Transportation or Preservation

of Salt Water (Brine) in the Starčevo-Criș Culture? - an Ethno-Archaeological Study ............................. 163
v
 TABLE OF C ONTENTS
Mugur Andronic, Bogdan-Petru Niculică, New Archaeological Research
Relating to the Exploitation of Salt in Bucovina ........................................................................................ 191

Vasile Diaconu, Sources of Salt and the Territorial Dynamics of

Late Bronze Age Communities in the Northern Moldavian Subcarpathian Region ................................... 199

Dragomir Nicolae Popovici, Ovidiu Cîrstina, Ana Ilie, Gheorghe Olteanu, Mihai Năstase, Florin Petrică,
Sources of Salt in Dâmboviţa County: Geological, Ethnographical, Historical and Archaeological
Perspectives ................................................................................................................................................ 207

Robin Brigand, Olivier Weller, Marius Alexianu,

A New Technique for Salt Block Preparation at Coza (Tulnici, Vrancea County, Romania) .................... 223

Marius Alexianu, The Radial Model of Salt Supplying. Preliminary Remarks .......................................... 229

Mădălin-Cornel Văleanu, Saline Springs on the Moldavian Plateau.

Dates in Unpublished 19th Century Archival Sources ................................................................................ 237

Mihaela Asăndulesei, The Symbolism of Salt in Holidays as Expressed in

the Pioneering Works of Romanian Ethnographers Simion Florea Marian and Tudor Pamfile ............... 241

Roxana-Elena Diaconu, Vasile Diaconu, Salt: Beliefs and Practices.

Some Ethnographical Case Studies from Moldavia ................................................................................... 251

Adrian Poruciuc, Paradigmatic Presentations of Salt in the Romanian Language and Folklore .............. 257

Marius Alexianu, The Potential Toponymic Field of Salt Springs in Romanian Microtoponymy ............. 261

Mihaela Asăndulesei, The Toponymy of Salt in Zamfir Arbore’s

Geographical Dictionary of Bessarabia ..................................................................................................... 265

Ion Sandu, Maria Canache, Andrei-Victor Sandu, Viorica Vasilache, Ioan Gabriel Sandu,
Use of Saline Aerosol Devices in School Gymnasiums: a Romanian Experiment ..................................... 275

Index of Authors ....................................................................................................................................... 279

 

vi