Xerxos Pit

A huge, deep, underground salt mine on Zaxos, the largest on the island, employing hundreds of miners, and having a high turnover rate, due to the hazards of breathing the salty air. The mine is owned by a group of investors. The supervisor of the mine is Niktohal Geba Ferthesc.

The mine is beneath the hills to the north of Lymoxersia, reached by the north road. The mine entrance is inside a two-story stone building (the mine company offices) built against a tall hill, behind a heavy set of iron doors. Beyond the doors a wide passage slopes down to a huge chamber, in the center of which is a pit, 60 ft. in diameter and descending over 500 ft.

Starting at the top and spiraling around the inside of the pit is a heavy, well-supported, railed wooden ramp that goes all the way to the shores of the briny pond at the bottom. At several points along the shaft, passages and caverns have been carved out, where the salt is extracted. There are also resting areas for the miners.

The salt is mined by hand with shovels and picks, loaded into carts, and pushed to the surface by miners, and stored in rooms in the building until packed up and sold.