The Red Hills of Salt Making
Nearby Maldon is now recognised as one of the finest sea salt sources in the UK.
Before the advent of freezers salt was very a important commodity as it was used to preserve meat so that excess meat or fish in good times could be preserved to eat in bad times.
Salt making has been an important trade in this area existing amongst the Trinovantes before the roman conquest. Carbon dating on the oldest site at Fenn Creek, Woodham Ferrers shows the age of the debris to be 1000 years before the Romans invaded. Most results date the start of red hills from 300 BC onwards.
Although there is some argument about the start date of salt making there is agreement that many sites were in use before the coming of the Romans and that the trade increased with their arrival
Salt production in this area was too large for the local needs and so it appears that salt was exported throughout Eastern England.
We are fortunate in being able to identify sites used for ancient salt makings due to the by product of manufacture - Mounds of red earth.
The red hills are formed from the byproducts of salt making with remains of charcoal used to fire the evaporation, waste pottery, clay used in lining the fire and general waste from the people living on site. They are coloured red due to the effects of the firing on the clay.
Red hills can be up to 4 feet high and have diameters of up to 40 feet. many are much smaller and in many cases are flat as farmers found that scattering the red hills on their heavy clay fields improved their soil by breaking up the clay.
Red hills are found in coastal or estuary areas near to the high tide mark . Salt water was placed into pottery pans which were hung over clay hearths filled with wood and then heated until the salt was left in the pan. The correct heat had to be applied to ensure that the salt crystals were large and that they stuck together leaving a bound salt cake.
The estuaries of the River Crouch and River Blackwater were amongst the prime locations for red hills with 42 red hill sites identified in the Dengie 100 parishes. Each site may have had a number of hearths working which gives some indication of the scale of the industry.
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Parish
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Number of Red Hills identified
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Bradwell on Sea
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11
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|
Burnham on Crouch
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5
|
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Dengie
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3
|
|
Latchingdon
|
5
|
|
Mundon
|
2
|
|
St Lawrence
|
2
|
|
Southminster
|
4
|
|
Steeple
|
1
|
|
Stow Maries
|
2
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