The village of Earl Shilton would evolve on Shilton Hill in what would be south Leicestershire. Below the hill ran an ancient trackway known as the Salt Road, connecting east and west Leicestershire. A tribe known as the Corieltauvi constructed this ancient road, running along the southern edge of the Great Leicester Forest, a vast tract of impenetrable woodland which entirely covered west Leicestershire and stretched up into Nottingham and Derbyshire. The Salt Road was a major artery of trade and passage for many centuries to come.