Piatra-Neamt, Jan 15 /Agerpres/ - An archaeological research in Oglinzi village, Neamt County, has led to the discovery of some ancient artifacts that help to understand the lesser known process of obtaining salt by recrystallization, using natural brackish water.

Several brackish springs have been known in the area of the village of Oglinzi, but one of them aroused the interest of specialists when in 2017, two archaeologists from the Neamt National Museum Complex identified in its vicinity a series of 8,000-year-old ceramics.

In order to find out details about this archaeological site, an archaeology camp was organized in August 2024, which was attended by local students. An archaeological survey was carried out to obtain data on the stratigraphy of the site and to familiarize the camp participants with the methods of researching the ancient artifacts.

The results were particularly interesting and confirmed that the site belongs to the early Neolithic, and its existence is related to the exploitation of the nearby brackish spring.

The team coordinated by the archaeologist Vasile Diaconu, from the History and Ethnography Museum of Targu Neamt, investigated a boundary of the site and found that the archaeological deposit is almost 1.50 meters thick. Traces of several glass pits were identified, in the form of not very deep cavities, in which fires were made and clay pots were placed for boiling the brackish water extracted nearby, thus obtaining solid, highly concentrated salt, easier to store and transported over very long distances.

Important quantities of ceramic artifacts from different types of vessels, typical of the Neolithic Starcevo-Cris culture, were discovered in the archaeological site. Diaconu recalls that this was the first Neolithic culture to settle in the extra-Carpathian areas, consisting of sedentary farming communities.

'We must remember that almost 8,000 years ago, early Neolithic communities extracted brackish waters and, following a process that was not simple, requiring collective efforts, solid salt was obtained, highly sought after and valuable for those times. /.... / For us, as archaeologists, this site is of particular interest, having aspects of uniqueness, but also an increased scientific potential, which places, once again, Neamt County on the map of important archaeological discoveries,' Vasile Diaconu, research coordinator, told AGERPRES.

The recently excavated prehistoric exploitation of the brackish waters in Oglinzi is extremely valuable from a scientific point of view, because it is among the first of its kind in eastern Romania and the only one that belongs exclusively to early Neolithic communities.

The archaeological research was characterized by an interdisciplinary approach aimed at taking sediment samples, which have already been analyzed in laboratories in Romania and Spain, and others were sent to Poland, the researcher said.

So far the absolute dating of the site has been obtained, but important information about the vegetal landscape from the period when Neolithic communities exploited the spring's brackish waters has also been recorded. AGERPRES (RO - author: Gabriel Apetrii, editor: Catalin Alexandru; EN - editor: Simona Iacob)