Why the myth of salting the earth persists despite lacking historical evidence
In short: The image of a conqueror sowing salt over a razed city to ensure eternal desolation is a powerful historical trope. Yet, while the practice appears in ancient texts and medieval folklore, the most famous example—the destruction of Carthage—is entirely apocryphal. What was this ritual actually meant to achieve?
Salting the earth originated in the ancient Near East as a ritualistic curse intended to prevent the rebuilding of conquered cities. While the Biblical Book of Judges describes Abimelech sowing his own capital, Shechem, with salt around 1050 BC, the exact meaning of this act remains debated among scholars. Interpretations range from a covenantal curse or a method to ensure permanent desolation, to a purification rite meant to appease the spirits of the dead or prepare the site for a final destruction under the herem ritual.
The most enduring version of this story involves the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus, who allegedly salted Carthage after its defeat in 146 BC. Despite its popularity in academic literature following the 1930 publication of the Cambridge Ancient History, no ancient sources support this claim. Historians now consider the Carthage story a later invention, likely modeled after the earlier Biblical narrative of Shechem. The myth became so ingrained that medieval figures, such as Pope Boniface VIII, explicitly cited the supposed example of Carthage when ordering the destruction and salting of Palestrina in 1299.
Beyond ancient warfare, the practice evolved into a symbolic punishment for traitors in Spain and Portugal. Following the 1759 Távora affair, the palace of the Duke of Aveiro was demolished and the land salted to mark his infamy. A similar fate was decreed for the Brazilian revolutionary Tiradentes, whose home was razed and salted to ensure his memory remained one of disgrace. These later applications highlight how the ritual transitioned from a military tool of desolation into a potent, performative instrument of state-sanctioned social and political condemnation.
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