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c/ Ramón y Cajal, junto al Colegio Público Camacho Melendo

Lime Kiln (1st-2nd centuries).

Location: Residential Area UE 29 (Ramón y Cajal Street, next to Camacho Melendo Public School).

The kiln was located during archaeological excavations carried out in 2007 by the Museum (Municipal Archaeology Service). During these works, a lime kiln (1st-2nd centuries) and a necropolis (3rd-5th centuries) were documented. Both elements are represented in the public exhibition.

The enhancement involved the construction of a rectangular building subdivided into two separate spaces. The first one contains the entrance, as well as the corresponding educational signage, in addition to the exhibition of two tombs from the same archaeological site and other museographic elements, including a model of the reconstructed kiln. The second space is the one that houses the lime kiln for display, accompanied by an evocative staging.

For the construction of the Roman city of Priego, numerous resources available in its environment were needed: stone, bricks, tiles, earth, and lime mortar, as well as other less important materials. Lime mortar was the most used mortar in antiquity for construction. It was composed of sand, lime, and water. Sand and water were used, once the sources of supply were located, with little transformation. This was not the case with lime.

To obtain lime, it was necessary to calcine the suitable limestone rock, that is, subject it to high temperatures (approximately 1,000°C) during a process that could last several days, so that the calcium carbonate it contained would turn into calcium oxide. This calcium oxide is "quicklime," which needs to be mixed with water to transform into a plastic mass that can be used as mortar. This is the function of the exhibited lime kiln.

Main parts of the kiln:

Calcination chamber: Here, the limestone rocks to be calcined were deposited thanks to a fire arranged in the lower part. This semi-subterranean chamber is partially carved into the natural rock (travertine or coarse) and was raised with an adobe wall that was the visible aerial part of the structure. Its shape is circular. Access door, preceded by a small corridor.

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