A saltern dating back to between 5500 and 5800 B.C. is discovered
in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

Paris, October 31, 2002

An archeological team led by Denis Morin, CNRS research director at the Unité Toulousaine d’Archéologie et d’Histoire (UTAH – CNRS/University of Toulouse, Mirail), and archeological techniques specialist, uncovered a saltern dating back to between 5500 and 5800 B.C. (early Neolithic period). Such an early dating makes this the oldest known salt production site in Europe.

The saltern was discovered at the bottom of a 17th century well situated in the center of a natural geological reserve in Haute-Provence near Moriez, a small village in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department. A series of small wooden sticks, some of which bore intentionally carved markings, were found vertically driven in marl sediment saturated with brine at a depth of more than nine meters. The wooden sticks are the vestiges of a circular structure, a type of sump or tank, designed to protect the salt-water spring. The walls of the well were supported by a wattle to prevent the spring from collapsing.

Radiocarbon dating was conducted on two well-preserved wood samples taken from the bottom of the salt well by the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (CEA/CNRS - Gif-sur-Yvette). A chemical treatment of the samples was carried out in accordance with protocols established by the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement and the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane. The ¹⁴C dates, following biological fractioning correction (¹³C correction), are expressed more conventionally as ¹⁴C B.P.

The resulting dates, much older than expected, were particularly surprising in light of the archeological materials recovered from the bottom of the well (ceramic debris from the 19th century) and historical archives. Given the state of current dating techniques and knowledge, the potential ageing of the samples is thought highly unlikely – particularly given the wood samples’ conservation in salt, which provides added assurance of good preservation. These results lend support to the hypothesis that the two pieces of wood are contemporaneous and probably date back to about 6795 BP (±40), which correspond to the calibrated dates 5735 and 5624 Cal BC.

An analysis of the pollen content in core samples of the sediment should enable the teams to refine the initial dates and provide greater insight into the climatic conditions that prevailed when salt harvesting first began in Europe.

This unusual discovery came about as a result of a joint saltern research program in the Alps region organized and sponsored by several institutions: the regional Midi-Pyrénées CNRS, PACA’s regional department of archeology, the DRAC PACA, and the geological reserve of Haute-Provence.

Researcher contacts:
Denis Morin, UTAH
Telephone: + 33 3 84 63 45 93 – Cell phone: + 33 6 86 13 24 32
E-mail: morindenis@aol.com
Internet site: http://members.aol.com/arkmetal/ERMINA.htm

Midi-Pyrénées CNRS representative:
Jacques Fontès
Telephone: + 33 5 61 33 60 54 – + 33 6 88 07 83 73
E-mail: jacques.fontes@dr14.cnrs.fr

CNRS Press contact:
Martine Hasler
Tel: 33 1 44 96 46 35
e-mail: martine.hasler@cnrs-dir.fr