Salt of the Alps: ancient Austrian mine holds Bronze Age secrets

Phys dot org ^ | Friday, August 24, 2018 | Philippe Schwab

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All mines need regular reinforcement against collapse, and Hallstatt, the world's oldest salt mine perched in the Austrian Alps, is no exception. But Hallstatt isn't like other mines. Exploited for 7,000 years, the mine has yielded not only a steady supply of salt but also archaeological discoveries attesting to the existence of a rich civilisation dating back to the early part of the first millennium BC. So far less than two percent of the prehistoric tunnel network is thought to have been explored, with the new round of reinforcement work, which began this month, protecting the dig's achievements, according to chief archaeologist Hans Reschreiter... Hallstatt was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997 and the work aims to protect it for "future generations", said Thomas Stelzer, governor of Upper Austria state where the mine is located... The vast deposit of sea salt inside was left by the ocean that covered the region some 250 million years ago... Among the most striking archaeological discoveries was that of an eight-metre-long wooden staircase dating back to 1100 BC, the oldest such staircase found in Europe... Other items date back much further. Excavated in 1838, an axe made from staghorn dating from 5,000 BC showed that as early as then, miners "tried hard to extract salt from here," Reschreiter said... sword handles made of African ivory and Mediterranean wine bowls found at the site... As well as revealing wooden retaining structures more than 3,000 years old which were perfectly preserved by the salt, the excavation unearthed numerous tools, leather gloves and a rope -- thick as a fist -- as well as the remains of millions of wooden torches.

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http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/hallstatt/en/salt_mine/discovery/man_in_the_salt

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