Sunday 20 May 2012

Museums at Night - Salt Making at Newlyn Art Gallery

Wasn't able to upload photos during the night as wi-fi didn't reach to the outside areas of the museum.
Lit the peat fire at 7.30pm on the 19th.



Leaflets available from the ECOSAL partner salt museums in Portugal, Spain and France.
This is possibly the first time a replica of the Trebarveth salt hearths have been fired since they were used during the Roman period.
During the evening margharitas were served
Salty tales were told
and a stop-motion film was made using white salt crystals on a black board. 'Through the Gaps'
Local blog record of the event at its start and at 2am.



Stop motion film using salt crystals on a black board filmed with a video camera.
Simon Jaques,Museum Manager and Cat Gibbard, Education Officer with the salt made during the night.

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Field Trip to Cornish Sea Salt Company

Spent today with the Cornish Sea Salt Company, visiting their sea salt works and looking at the salt making site at Trebarveth as a Lead site within the UK ECOSAL Route of Traditional Salt Making.


The modern sea salt works of the Cornish Sea Salt Company is unfortunately located on private land and is unaccessible for public visits.

The Roman salt making site at Trebarveth, St Keverne on The Lizard Peninsula is located on a coastal footpath. We walked from Coverack. It was excavated in 1969 by David Peacock and an excavation report is published in Cornish Archaeology Vol.8 p47-65.

The remains of the huts and salt hearths are now being eroded by the sea.
See below. Perhaps it would be possible to insert some coastal protection measures here, as have been created at Port Eynon on The Gower, South Wales and at Crosscannonby in Cumbria, to protect this salt making site for future generations.



Also spent time preparing for our salt making demonstration of ancient salt making, using replica ceramic salt pans as might have been used at Trebarveth. Details of our part in Newlyn Art Gallery's Museums at Night event over the night of 19-20 May.



Some delays in our travelling today were caused by local preparations getting ready to receive the Olympic Torch Relay, which arrives at Lands End on the morning of 19 May with its first stop at Newlyn on the morning of our salt making demonstration. Current weather forcast is for rain!