Red Hill (salt making)
Encyclopedia
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. The discarded remnants of the process accumulate over time to produce characteristic red hills. 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
.
See also Saltern
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
and Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. 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. The discarded remnants of the process accumulate over time to produce characteristic red hills. Red hills can date from the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
through to the Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
. Red hills and salt making at Salthouse
Salthouse
Salthouse is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the salt marshes of North Norfolk. It is north of Holt, west of Sheringham and north of Norwich. The village is on the A149 coast road between King's Lynn and Great Yarmouth. The nearest railway station...
(Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
) were described by Hoskins
W. G. Hoskins
William George Hoskins CBE FSA was a British local historian who founded the first university department of English Local History. His great contribution to the study of history was in the field of landscape history...
.
See also Saltern
Saltern
Saltern is a word with a number of differing meanings. In English archaeology, a saltern is an area used for salt making, especially in the East Anglian fenlands....