Red Hill (salt making)

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A red hill is a small mound with a reddish colour found in the coastal areas of East Anglia and Essex. A red hill is formed as a result of generations of salt making. Salt water is boiled in a pottery container to concentrate the brine and eventually produce crystallised salt. The high temperature leads to oxidisation and reddening of the soil.^[1] The discarded remnants of the process accumulate over time to produce characteristic red hills.^[2] Red hills can date from the Bronze Age through to the Anglo-Saxon. Red hills and salt making at Salthouse (Norfolk) were described by Hoskins. ^[3]

1. ^ DR Wilson, Air Photo Interpretation (Tempus, 2000)
2. ^ Lesley & Roy Adkins, The Handbook of British Archeology
3. ^ WG Hoskins, Fieldwork in Local History, (Faber & Faber Ltd. 1967, pp. 154-158)