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Salt was not just preservative but physiological requirement.
The Sodium Needs:
Human bodies require sodium for nerve function, muscle contraction, fluid balance. Without adequate salt intake, health deteriorates—weakness, confusion, eventual death from electrolyte imbalance.
Diets heavy in plant foods (typical Celtic diet) required supplemental salt—plants contain little sodium, and the body cannot produce it. Salt consumption was health necessity, not luxury.
The Work Requirement:
Heavy physical labor (common in Celtic life) increased salt needs—sweating depletes sodium, requiring replacement. Farmers, miners, warriors—all needed more salt than sedentary individuals, making adequate salt access survival issue for working populations.
The Livestock Salt:
Animals also required salt—cattle, sheep, horses all needed sodium supplementation. Providing salt to livestock was economic necessity (animals lacking salt became weak, produced less, died prematurely) and humanitarian concern (preventing unnecessary animal suffering).
Salt licks were maintained—natural deposits where animals could lick salt, or artificial blocks provided by herders. Controlling access to salt licks was one way to manage livestock movement and maintain authority over animal populations.
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