Neolithic Salt Conference 2024

A Neolithic Salt Production Site at Street House, Loftus, North-East Yorkshire
Royal Archaeological Institute and Tees Heritage Trust Joint Conference:
13–15 September 2024

A conference will be held in the autumn of 2024 to present the evidence for the Early Neolithic salt production site at Street House, near Loftus. The site was discovered in 2014 during a programme of excavations. It is the only currently known salt ‘factory’ in Britain and the earliest known saltern in Western Europe. This is the first presentation of detailed information on the site including an Early Neolithic pottery type-series and the largest assemblage of Carinated Bowls found in the north of England.

The conference begins on Friday evening with an opening lecture by Dr Alison Sheridan. A day of lectures will be held on the Saturday presenting the material evidence from the site at Street House. The second day will be held in East Cleveland. Starting at the Town Hall, Loftus, there will be an exhibition of site images, a poster session about Street House in the Neolithic, a representative display of the finds including briquetage, pottery, flint and worked stones, and three seminars. In the afternoon there will be a site tour of the 2024 excavations at Street House in addition to a demonstration of the technique proposed for salt production, a presentation by the Whitby Sea Salt Co. that produces an artisan salt by solar and wind power, and a short circular walking tour of the prehistoric sites in the immediate area.

Speakers:
Prof Anthony Harding (University of Exeter)
Tom Lane (field archaeologist; member of ECOSAL-UK: group interested in the heritage
and culture of traditional salt making in the UK)
Dr Laurent Olivier (CNRS – The French National Centre for Scientific Research, France)
Dr Patrick Quinn (University College London)
Yvette Marks (Laboratory Manager and Teaching Technician, Sheffield University)
Dr Alison Sheridan (formerly National Museums of Scotland)
Dr Stephen Sherlock (Street House site director; Co-Investigator, University of Waterloo, Canada)
Dr Blaise Vyner (former Cleveland County Archaeologist)
Dr Isabel Wiltshire (Bristol University)
Dr Rob Young (formerly Lampeter University and English Heritage)