Dear Alexa,
No I am not aware of any saltmaking process that uses fat. Wood of
course
is used as fuel. I presume your question indicates you think the ceramic
fabric was sealed and made water tight by using fat? That would in fact
work against the purpose of these ceramics which were meant to drain
wet salt.
Do you have any pictures you could send of the 'supperposed
structures
of combustion'? The Red Hills I mentioned were just mounds or hills of
charcoal, ash and ceramic - and there was no 'structure'.
Have you ever found a whole saltmaking pot in the deposit?
Incidentally
salt does not affect wood and would not affect charcoal which I believe
is crude
carbon.
Bea
On 5/30/05 6:46 AM Dr. Alexa Dufraisse writes:
>Dear Bea,
>thank you for you answer.
>The deposit are in fact a mixture between charcoal, ashes and ceramic
>fragment;
>we recognized approximatively 50 supperposed structures of combustion as
>it is
>shown by the photo. I already work in other context of salt exploitation with
>and without briquetages molds but I never meet such altered charcoal
>fragments.
>Do you know specific techniques of evaporation using fat and wood for
>example?
>Alexa
>
>
>--
>Alexa Dufraisse
>Universität Basel
>IPNA, Institut für Prähistorische und Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie
>Spalenring 145
>CH-4055 Basel
>Tel +41 61 201 02 17
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------
>This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.
|