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THE SALTERNS OF LANKA – By Prashanth Sentilkumar Source : Prashanth Sentilkumar Linkedin An Island surrounded by the Indian ocean, Sri lanka’s association with Salt dates back millenias. There is evidence for usage of salt in the island dating back to around 25000 years , during the excavation of the Belilena caves,a few sea shells were found with rockSalt deposits pointing to the possibility of the usage of salt in ancient times. The Mahavamsa (ancient chronicles) states the term “Ussangoda”, which means salttarns or salt pans which was in existence during the reign of King Pandukabhaya, around the 4th century BCE, it was located in the hambantota District. Also the Vinayaka Pataka mentions about sea salt being used in ancient times. During the 3rd century BCE , the Kingdoms of Anuradapura and Polonaruwa were renowned for Salt productions which was harvested in shallow brine pools known has Lunama. The Portugese,Dutch and ...