NEW FOREST TODAY MAGAZINE

Salt secrets

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The last two remaining salt boiling houses in the country have now been excavated

Many of us visit the Lymington-Pennington marshes on a regular basis to take in the beauty and wildlife, but did you realise it was once a busy trade route exporting thousands of tons of salt all around the world?

Thanks to a dedicated team of archaeologists from the New Forest National Park Authority and a group of 20 enthusiastic volunteers, the last two remaining sea salt boiling houses in the whole of the country have now been excavated.

The excavation explored the unaltered remains of a bygone industry at the Lymington-Pennington marshes. The archaeologists and volunteers were looking at the extent of a typical salt working site and how far back the history of the industry goes before the Grade II listed sea salt boiling houses are given a new lease of life.

James Brown, New Forest National Park Authority’s Maritime Archaeology Education and Outreach Officer, said: “Many people don’t even realise the New Forest National Park has a coastline so work like this is vitally important in preserving the past and teaching people about what a diverse place the Forest really is.”

The Authority’s Archaeologist Frank Green explains why salt excavation is so important: “Salt was often said to be worth its weight in gold and has played a vital role in nearly every civilisation since the beginning of time. It has been used to preserve and improve the taste of food, for tanning hides to make leather and treating wounds. It wouldn’t be over-emphasising it to say that you could judge how sophisticated a society was by the availability of salt.”

The excavation was a huge success with 145 people learning more about it from the guided tours run by the National Park Authority.