A series of shallow tidal pools and evaporation pans along the coast about 3 miles north of Ashkelon, where seawater is trapped and allowed to evaporate, leaving valuable salt deposits. The salt pans are worked by families from Ashkelon and Yavneh.
The salt pans are created where low-lying ground near the beach floods at high tide. Workers have enhanced nature with low earthen dams and channels, directing water into shallow pools. As water evaporates in the sun, it leaves increasingly concentrated brine and eventually crystals of salt. The area is a maze of pools, channels, and work sheds.
Salt workers tend the pans year-round, managing water flow, raking salt crystals, and transporting the harvest to Ashkelon. The work is hot, grueling, and poorly paid, but salt is valuable enough to make the enterprise profitable. Most workers are poor families who own or rent pans from wealthier merchants.
The salt pans are a hardscrabble place. Workers are tough and practical, focused on their labor. The area attracts seabirds in huge numbers, and the smell of salt and brine is overwhelming. At night, only watchmen remain to guard against theft.
Salt from these pans is a significant export for Ashkelon, used for preserving food and in various crafts. The pans are owned by a handful of merchant families who rent them to workers.