I explored an old chalk quarry recently and for the life of me I can't identify these. Anyone know what they are?
Unknown structures - chalk quarry
- Thread starter Munchh
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I was going to say drying kilns
Nope, they are in fact limekilns of the vertical feed or shaft type.
They would have been fed with chalk from the top and fires lit at the base. Once firing was over, the finished lime came out of the openings at the bottom and was loaded onto carts or trucks. They're usually built into banks to allow easier loading and better insulation.
They worked something like this (cross-section):
They would have been fed with chalk from the top and fires lit at the base. Once firing was over, the finished lime came out of the openings at the bottom and was loaded onto carts or trucks. They're usually built into banks to allow easier loading and better insulation.
They worked something like this (cross-section):
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Thanks guys, that's exactly how they appear Archivist. I'm glad I didn't accidently find the hole at the top though.
No Problem. Yes, they can be quite dangerous. I almost fell down one near Port Talbot last year which had been all but buried by spoil. Certainly something to bear in mind if you're ever out exploring in this sort of place.
Aha - these look exactly like what we thought was Cliffe Fort Battery (see Newage's report a couple of weeks back). That brick work is almost identical, with the gaps in it and everything. Thanks for confirming a point of conjecture!
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