A salt production site in Baratti Bay (Tuscany, Italy) and the socio-economic impact of transhumance in Central Appennines during the Late Bronze Age

The recent archaeological investigations carried out in the beach of Baratti Bay(Piombino, Tuscany, Italy) have revealed the existence of an important salt production sitedated to the Late Bronze Age (10th century B.C.). A detailed analysis of the stratigraphicsequence attested the employment of fire in the activities of extraction and, possibly, theproduction of salt blocks, which could be easily transported and traded. This method is nowdocumented by a growing number of sites in Italy, mainly located in the central Tyrrheniancoast and occupied during the Late Bronze Age. In this regard, it should be emphasized thatthere was a close relationship between the production and the commercialization of saltblocks in central coastal Italy and the development of a pastoral economy among thecommunities that occupied the Apennines region in protohistoric times