Roman Nantwich : a Salt-Making Settlement

"In 2002 the fullest evidence so far recovered for the Roman settlement at Nantwich, a historic salt-producing centre in Cheshire, was revealed by an excavation carried out at Kingsley Fields, on the west side of the town, ahead of a housing development. This uncovered a previously unknown Roman road, linking the settlement at Nantwich to the main road network, and, positioned along this, evidence for the collection and storage of brine and the production of salt, together with buildings, enclosures, a well, and a small number of cremation burials. Waterlogged conditions meant that organic remains, including structural timbers, were well preserved on the site. These included the two finest examples of timber-built brine tanks excavated from Roman Britain. Their fills contained an exceptional assemblage of finds, including metalwork, wooden objects, and animal bones, which appear to indicate ritual deposition."--Summary, p. iii.