Salt in Roman Dacia

Production, Use, and Strategic Value

By (author) Lucrețiu Mihailescu-Bîrliba

Book cover: Salt in Roman Dacia

Extent: 130 pages

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing

Subjects: German Studies

Series: Archaeopress Roman Archaeology

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(November 2025)

ISBN: 9781805831112

6.85 x 9.65 inches

Price: $49.00

In stock

This volume examines salt exploitation in Roman Dacia, a topic often overlooked compared to other resources. It analyses archaeological and epigraphic evidence to understand production, administration, and military links, offering a broader view of salt’s role in the province and the Roman world.


The study of salt in Roman times has not benefitted from the attention paid to the exploitation of other subsoil resources like metals. This is the result of the scarcity not only of sources concerning the exploitation itself, but also of those that provide indirect information (like aspects of mining, trade or especially administration), compounded by the lack of archaeological research on this resource (particularly when compared with the archaeology of salt in prehistory or the archaeology of Roman mining). The main objectives of this volume are to analyse the existing archaeological research on salt exploitation in Roman Dacia, and to discuss the epigraphic information to better understand salt exploitation and administration as well as the relationship between mining and administrative staff and the military personnel. Based on this information, a global view of salt exploitation in Roman Dacia is presented, and the particularities of salt production, industry and consumption in this province are compared with the Roman world.

List of Figures

Introduction

1. Researches on salt production and salt industry in the Roman Empire

2. Researches on salt archaeology and salt history in Roman Dacia

I. Salt exploitation in Roman Dacia: archaeological evidence

1. Salt exploitation in pre-Roman period

2. Salt exploitation in Roman period

3. Conclusions

II. Salt administration in Roman Dacia

1. Introduction

2. Conductores

3. Lower-ranked personnel of the saltwork administration

4. Conclusions

Annex 1: Supplementum epigraphicum

Annex 2: Salt resources in the proximity of inscription locations

III. The Roman army and salt exploitation in Dacia

1. Introduction

2. Military camps and fortifications near salt resources

3. Conclusions

IV. Religious aspects of salt mining in Roman Dacia

1. The cult of Terra Mater

2. The cult of other divinities related to mining activities

3. Neptune and Salacia in Roman Dacia

4. Conclusions

V. Conclusions

Supplementum Epigraphicum

Bibliography

  • By (author) LucreÈ›iu Mihailescu-Bîrliba