Salting the earth

This article is about the symbolic practice. For salt in the soil, see Soil salinity. Not to be confused with Salt of the earth or Salting (confidence trick).

Salting the earth, or sowing with salt, is the ritual of spreading salt on the sites of cities razed by conquerors.[1][2] It originated as a curse on re-inhabitation in the ancient Near East and became a well-established folkloric motif in the Middle Ages.[3] The best-known example is the salting of Shechem as narrated in the Biblical Book of Judges, 9:45. The supposed salting of Carthage is not supported by historical evidence.

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  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gevirtz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Stevens was invoked but never defined (see the help page).