Salt: From the Roman Legion to Your Electrolyte Packet

Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson · Aug 20, 2026 · 25m

Salt: From the Roman Legion to Your Electrolyte Packet

You've probably heard that Roman soldiers were paid in salt—and that this is where we get the word salary. It's a great story. It's also almost certainly not true.

The Romans had money. We find Roman coins throughout the former empire, including around military forts such as those along Hadrian's Wall, and we have evidence that Roman soldiers were paid in money. What we do have is an ancient linguistic connection between the Latin sal, meaning salt, and salarium, which eventually gives us salary. Somewhere along the way, that became the…