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This is Solnitcata, the oldest town in Europe. It is a salt mine located in Bulgaria, which is supposed to be inhabited at 4700 BCE.
Salt is an important source of wealth in ancient history, as humans (like all animals) need to consume salt to survive.
facebook.com/Provadia.Solni…
Salt is an important source of wealth in ancient history, as humans (like all animals) need to consume salt to survive.
facebook.com/Provadia.Solni…
The word for "salt" in the various Indo-European languages is a confusing mystery. The academic etymology says that the mythical Proto-Indo-European root is *séh₂ls, which is connected to Sanskrit "salila" (meaning "water": from "sara" or "to flow").
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%85…
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%85…
I don't think it makes any sense. The word for salt in Sanskrit is "lavaṇa". An acrid and salty taste can be called "kshāra". The word "salila" has no connotations of saltiness.
We should take these hypothetical derivations of Proto-Indo-European with a bunch of salt. 😀
We should take these hypothetical derivations of Proto-Indo-European with a bunch of salt. 😀
I don't think it even makes sense to connect salt with water.The sea might have been a source for the production of salt. But not in the interior of the steppe.
It is far more likely that the Indo-European tribes got their salt from the ground. From salt mines in the mountains.
It is far more likely that the Indo-European tribes got their salt from the ground. From salt mines in the mountains.
If you look at the word for "salt" in European languages, there is a remarkable consistency. They all stem from the same root: German "Salz", Russian "Sol", French "Sel".
I think this is connected to the word for ground: French "sol", Latin "solum" etc.
I think this is connected to the word for ground: French "sol", Latin "solum" etc.
Such salt-mines would have been present also in the Saraswati-Sindhu civilization. We definitely know that there were mines for "Rājavarta" (Lapus Lazuli). This stone was an important means of monetary exchange. Salt would have served a similar purpose.
There is a potential candidate word for "rock-salt" in Sanskrit: Śaileya, derived from "śila" or stone. I think this is the equivalent word for "salt". This would connect this etymologically also to the words for ground "sol" etc.
More exotic words for salt in languages like Greek "Halsa", Armenian "Agha" (from Sanskrit "impurity" Agha?) might be due to a different source in the production of salt. Might be the sea, if the tribes had an access to the sea during the early evolution of their language.
The Greek word ἅλς might be connected to the word for a marshland or a swamp "Helos" Ἕλος. A salty marsh would be a reasonable way to produce salt in a coastal country.
I think the Endonym for Greece "Hellas" might also be connected to this word Ἕλος.
I think the Endonym for Greece "Hellas" might also be connected to this word Ἕλος.
A marshland drained of water is a pretty good point to start a civilization. If it is fresh-water, then the land will be fertile for the cultivation of crops (like in Mexico, Kashmir etc). If it is salty water, then it can produce salt. Both will support clusters of population.
