Briquetage de la Seille, Iron Age salt production site in Marsal, France
The Briquetage de la Seille is an ancient salt production site near Marsal with mounds of clay waste left behind from firing pottery vessels. The site covers a large area with remnants of furnaces where people extracted salt from natural springs flowing through the valley.
Celtic and Gallic communities operated salt extraction from natural springs in the Seille Valley between the 7th and 1st centuries before the common era. The site shows how salt production developed and became a major activity for the region over many centuries.
Salt production shaped daily life for communities living here across many generations. The scale of the remains shows how central this work was to their way of living and organizing their society.
The site is spread across a wide area that is open to explore, though terrain varies between different sections. Plan to spend time walking around to see the different mounds and furnace remnants scattered throughout the location.
Underground structures and specialized firing chambers were identified at the site using geophysical surveys without extensive digging. This approach revealed how sophisticated the ancient salt production methods actually were beneath the surface.
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