The topography of the Carmel coast between Atlit and Dor area, is suitable for producing salt from seawater. The elongated troughs behind the shore, which are almost at the elevation of sea level, are filled with impermeable clay sediments, which can hold water, and are suitable for salt-ponds. The rocky coastline allows the hewing of rock-cut installations of various types in order to transfer water from the sea eastward to the evaporation ponds in the troughs. Rock-cut installations intended for producing salt were located during coastal surveys of the MAU in the Carmel coast.

Four installations where located between Atlit and Neve-Yam. They consist of tilted rock-cut surfaces intended for capturing and lifting seawater by using the wave energy, and rock cut channels that were used to convey the water eastward to the ponds. South of Neve-Yam and the Habonim area, seven additional installations were recorded. They consist of rock-cut channels that were used to convey water from the sea by gravity to rock-cut reservoirs located some 3-10 m inland. From the reservoirs, the water was elevated by windmills or by water-wheels and flowed eastward to the evaporation-ponds via channels made of wood or cut into the rock. Other installations consist of tilted rock-cut surfaces that captured the water (using the wave energy in the swash zone), and lifted them to elevation of up to 1 m above sea level. From there, the water flowed eastward to the ponds via rock-cut channels or wooden aqueducts.

These structures are directly associated with the sea and provide valuable information about sea level changes and coastline displacement.

Judging by the available data revealed from the rock-cut installations on the Israeli coast, it seems that no major tectonic changes have occurred in the region during the last 2000 years.