Salt

History

All through history, the availability of salt has been pivotal to civilization. What is now thought to have been the first city in Europe is Solnitsata, in Bulgaria, which was a salt mine, providing the area now known as the Balkans with salt since 5400 BC. Salt was the best-known food preservative, especially for meat, for many thousands of years. A very ancient salt-works operation has been discovered at the Poiana Slatinei archaeological site next to a salt spring in Lunca, Neamț County, Romania. Evidence indicates that Neolithic people of the Precucuteni Culture were boiling the salt-laden spring water through the process of briquetage to extract salt as far back as 6050 BC. The salt extracted from this operation may have directly correlated with the rapid growth of this society's population soon after production began. The harvest of salt from the surface of Xiechi Lake near Yuncheng in Shanxi, China, dates back to at least 6000 BC, making it one of the oldest verifiable saltworks. There is more salt in animal tissues, such as meat, blood, and milk, than in plant tissues. With the spread of civilization, salt became one of the world's main trading commodities. It was of high value to the ancient Hebrews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Hittites and other peoples of antiquity. In the Middle East, salt was used to seal an agreement ceremonially, and the ancient Hebrews made a "covenant of salt" with God and sprinkled salt on their offerings to show their trust in him. An ancient practice in time of war was salting the earth: scattering salt around in a defeated city to symbolically prevent plant growth. The Bible tells the story of King Abimelech who was ordered by God to do this at Shechem. Texts claim that the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,431
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,146
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,984
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,940
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,897
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,856
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,653
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,636

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2015-10-29
  8 km ENE of l'Escala, Spain
• M 4.1 — 2010-12-19
  4 km W of Llagostera, Spain
• M 2.5 — 2008-12-29
  8 km NNE of Éller, Spain
• M 2.8 — 2008-08-27
  14 km S of Quillan, France
• M 3.8 — 2008-08-16
  Spain
• M 2.5 — 2008-08-08
  16 km ENE of Cadaqués, Spain