Cheshire’s Salt Towns – a Glittering Roman Legacy

Discover how and why the Romans exploited salt in Cheshire, and the legacy of the salt-producing towns they left behind.

The mining of precious metals was a key objective of the military invasion of Wales by the Romans, but of almost equal importance was the much-prized salt beneath the nearby Cheshire Plain.

Salt, so commonly found today, was an expensive commodity in Roman times because it was time-consuming to obtain through natural evaporation of brine. It was also a vital product, used to keep the vast Roman army marching, to preserve food, and in various manufacturing processes.

This exhibition explores why Cheshire salt was so important to the physical wellbeing of Roman soldiers, how the Romans protected this natural resource of Cheshire and created a road network to distribute it, and how the salt beneath the Cheshire Plain was acquired without the need to mine.

On display will be a replica of the rare Roman Cavalryman’s helmet discovered in Northwich.