HISTORIANS at a Northwich visitor attraction have made a discovery that changes the way they view the town’s salt producing history.

Experts at the Lion Salt Works, in Marston, uncovered documents from the manager’s office that prompted an old fashioned treasure hunt.

“The hand written notes appeared at first to be just daily journal entries, but we discovered a code hidden between the pages,” said Professor April Loof.

“The journal started to reveal that the early salt makers had discovered a unique source of salt”.

The Lion Salt Works is one of the last open-pan, salt-making sites in the world.

The majority of salt production was thought to have come from evaporating brine pumped from Roaring Meg – the brine stream running under the works – in large open pans.

The new research indicated that the original owners had discovered a unique series of ‘taps’ that they had built the site around.

“There may have been as many as three of these ‘taps’ that apparently produced salt directly from the salt layer far below the ground, but rather than salt held in suspension in brine this was ready ground-up fine and could go straight to the table,” Professor Loof said.

Following the clues in the journal, the Lion Salt Works guides have found the first of the ‘taps’ and couldn’t believe their eyes when a fine high quality Cheshire Salt poured out.

The ‘tap’ will be revealed to visitors for the first time today, Friday.

What nobody knows is how much salt is still left and for how long they will have salt on tap.

The Lion Salt Works has recently welcomed geologists and salt experts from across the country and none of them could explain the phenomenon with the standard response being ‘It’s a joke’ and ‘You’re kidding’ so the staff turned to their younger visitors who were quick to explain that you poured salt from a salt cellar on the table so why not from a tap just like water?