I never understood the "salt scarcity in antiquity" idea. As in they could just use a splash brine water from the sea if you physiologically need salt. And transport sea water inland as needed.
It really wasn't any more scarce than let's say wheat. And price seems to have been around same level with wheat take or leave some depending on distance from production.
What really made it special was that it was commodity with possibly limited production locations, that kept extremely well and was in steady demand. So it is one thing that everyone uses and is relatively easy to tax. And the price likely was much more stable compared to food and other goods.
The large scale demand also lead to it being desirable as military target, once you control the production you are good.
Transporting water from a well is already a pain in the neck. You think they're going to transport bulk seawater deep inland just to make their food soggy?
Turning seawater into salt by evaporating it works in areas where evaporation is substantially higher than precipitation, so mostly in dry, warm areas. It won’t work very well in Northern Europe for example. Salt needs to be kept moderately dry when transporting it, while it can’t rot, it’s still not trivial to transport.
And salt was not only flavoring, but one of the few means of preserving food. Access to salt was not a mere culinary issue, it was a matter of survival. This means that there was substantial trade, and substantial value in salt production and trade.
Turning seawater into salt by evaporating it works in areas where evaporation is substantially higher than precipitation, so mostly in dry, warm areas.
Agree Northern Europe would be tough, but there are plentiful salt ponds in Vietnam where the humidity (plus the rain) would make one think evaporation would be challenging, but apparently it works.
I can't tell what you think you're saying. Not only was this done routinely, it was much easier than the more obvious problem of providing the army with grain.
Ukrainian tradition and folklore prominently features these guys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumak . While the Wiki page mentions that in Ukrainian The Milky Way is called The Way of Chumaks it doesn't explain why -- but if you know the folklore, you'd immediately see that the idea is that it's the salt spillovers from their carts.
Salt was one of the most important goods that were traded over long distances. And no, technologically it wasn't advantageous to transport seawater or try to convert seawater into salt. Ukrainian city of Soledar that was prominently featured in the news last year literally means "gifting salt" -- and it has huge historical salt mines under it.
So, not only in antiquity, all the way through to the 19th century salt was one of the key goods traded over long distances. It wasn't as scarce as diamonds, but due to high demand it was still a worthwhile thing to trade.
According to the article, a Roman soldier could buy about 15 (modern) pounds of salt with a single day's wages.
Comparisons are very hard, but to put that in a bit of perspective: at an average salary of $60k/yr, a typical American today makes $165/day. So the cost in time for a Roman to buy salt would be roughly equivalent to if the price for salt today were $11/lb.
That's more expensive than it is today (I just bought salt for ~$2.50/lb), but it's a far cry from extremely valuable.
$60k/yr is a poor comparison because even modern Solders get paid less than average at a base but get room and board + many benefits.
An Army private starts at, $1,833/mo that’s 21k/year. Even corporal is only getting $2,393/mo to start and cap at $2,906/mo w/ 10 years. https://www.military-ranks.org/army-pay
So a modern soldier starts at ~24lb/day of your 2.50$/lb salt, but also has much cheaper alternatives.
You’re right about the wages, but single soldiers live on base (no housing costs) and are also fed (no food costs).
That’s $1,833 per month is all discretionary which is why you hear the stories of 18 year old privates buying a new <insert fast car>. A $800/month car payment is no problem with plenty left over.
And once you get married you can live off base and a Basic Housing Allowance. If stationed in San Francisco (unlikely, but a good example), you get $3,177/month as an E-2 (Private 2nd class).
You get even more money with kids.
Then add on top a full pension after 20 years and full healthcare coverage through the VA.
I think in that statement the "extremely" carries way too much weight.
As it would imply price to be very high. Which then would mean that regular people would not have access. But they also widely used salt. So it could not have been extremely valuable as we understand. Or maybe gasoline is extremely valuable commodity now...
Salt production and trade have been restricted, usually state-owned monopoly. Cities with salt mines like Salzburg became extremely rich, like oil countries today.
Is gasoline valuable? Yes. Is affordable? Yes, but not for everyone. Same with salt back than.
> Is affordable? Yes, but not for everyone. Same with salt back than.
That isn't possible; someone who can't afford salt dies. It's like claiming that water "isn't affordable for everyone". It is, and it must be, because people who can't afford it also can't exist.
What really made it special was that it was commodity with possibly limited production locations, that kept extremely well and was in steady demand. So it is one thing that everyone uses and is relatively easy to tax. And the price likely was much more stable compared to food and other goods.
The large scale demand also lead to it being desirable as military target, once you control the production you are good.