Bronze Age spinning-top-shaped vessels and fragments were discovered at a salt production site. Credit: KCNA / DPRK
Archaeologists in North Korea have uncovered what appears to be one of the country’s oldest known salt facilities, with remains dating back roughly 5,000 to 5,500 years. The discovery was made in the Woneup Workers’ District of Onchon County in Nampo, according to a state-released report.
Researchers said the excavation revealed prehistoric facilities used to store brine and boil seawater for salt. The remains span two major eras — the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age — offering rare evidence that communities on the Korean Peninsula were producing salt thousands of years ago.
The work was led by a team from the Archaeology Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences. According to the researchers, this is the first known site in North Korea where salt-production remains from both periods have been found together. The finding could help scholars better understand how early settlements preserved food, supported daily life, and developed small-scale industry near the coast.
Two layers point to repeated use over centuries
The most important structure at the site was a brine storage pit shaped like a half-sphere, a design that researchers said would have helped hold salt water. Excavation showed that the pit contained two clear cultural layers, suggesting the location was used more than once over a long period.
In the upper layer, the team found a hardened mud surface believed to have been used for storing brine. That layer also contained fragments of funnel-shaped pottery linked to the Bronze Age. In the lower layer, archaeologists uncovered a thick clay floor mixed with wood ash, along with pieces of incised pottery from the Neolithic period.
The salt-boiling area showed a similar pattern. In the upper section, researchers found a fired-pot installation with flues, likely used to heat and thicken brine before salt was collected. In the lower section, they discovered a related structure without flues, along with older Neolithic pottery fragments.
Soil tests support evidence of seawater salt production
To confirm the site’s purpose, researchers compared soil from inside the brine storage area with soil from nearby ground. The tests found much higher salinity inside the feature, strengthening the conclusion that the area was used to process seawater into salt.
Pottery analysis helped date the layers. Researchers said the upper finds belong to the Bronze Age, about 5,000 years ago, while the lower layer dates to the Neolithic period, about 5,500 years ago.
The Archaeological Society of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea reviewed the excavation layout, pottery evidence, and soil analysis in the salt facilities in North Korea. It agreed with the dating and said the remains show that ancient residents in the area produced salt by boiling seawater — a practice that may have played an important role in survival and trade in prehistoric coastal communities.