GoKawiilNew core drilling reveals 300-meter Iron Age salt mine network under Hallstatt
Archaeologists using core drilling begun in 2022 have uncovered a previously unknown network of Iron Age salt-mining chambers beneath Hallstatt, Austria, tracing the workings for at least 300 meters. Instead of one large cavity, the drilling found multiple parallel chambers, some stacked above or below others, up to 25 meters wide and 20 meters high, with floor debris including burnt pine splinters and broken tools.
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The find suggests Iron Age miners adapted their excavation techniques closely to the mountain's natural salt deposits, indicating a more sophisticated and extensive mining operation than previously documented. Because earlier knowledge of the mine came mainly from areas where later mining intersected older workings, this discovery could reshape understanding of how long and how intensively Hallstatt's salt deposits were exploited across different prehistoric periods.
- Core drilling since 2022 revealed a mining complex extending at least 300 meters beneath Hallstatt.
- The chambers run parallel and are stacked vertically, following the mountain's natural salt deposits rather than forming one cavity.
- Mining at Hallstatt dates back roughly 7,300 years, with large-scale Iron Age salt production reaching about 1.5 tons daily by 1200 BCE.
Source: archaeologymag.com — Dario Radley, 2026-10-22
Published there as: “Iron Age salt-mining complex found beneath Hallstatt in Austria”
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