Kiln - lime

The National Monuments Service's description

The following summary has been derived from Delany (2004, 164-78) to which the reader is referred for a fuller account. Archaeological excavations undertaken at the Custom House during the period 1997-9 uncovered significant medieval structural remains including those of a high medieval hall (GA094-100041-), the eastern corner of a 13th-century castle (GA094-100069-), a limekiln (GA094-100070- ) and a smelting works (GA094-100071-) that operated in the late and post-medieval periods. A very large quantity of artefacts (11,553) and environmental material was also recovered. The excavations were confined to two separate areas of the site. The eastern area, bordering on Druid Lane, comprised the hall, smelting works and an adjoining laneway; the area to the west was in a 19th-century warehouse building where the remains of the castle and kiln were uncovered.
This limekiln was found inside the wall of the 13th-century castle (GA094-100069-) and clearly post-dated its destruction. The excavated remains of the kiln comprised the southern half of a circular, bowl-shaped structure in the eastern corner of the medieval castle. The kiln measured 3.5m in diameter at the top, narrowing to 3m at a depth of 1.25m, which was the limit of the excavation. The structure was faced internally with roughly coursed, red sandstone and green granite boulders and rubble. The enclosing wall was c. 0.65m thick, except on the east where it abutted the medieval castle wall. The external walling appeared to function as a revetment for the inner face of the structure, and there was no clearly defined outer face. The upper part of a square or rectangular opening (Wth 0.4m) was exposed at the limit of the excavation, in the southern part of the kiln. The flue (L 2.75m; Wth 0.85m) for this opening extended southward and across the top of the castle wall, which was much reduced in this area. A roughly built, boulder-and-rubble wall defined the south-eastern edge of the flue, but the north-western wall was missing apart from a couple of stones, which indicated its approximate line. In general, the deposits in the kiln contained frequent inclusions of shell (mainly oyster) and animal and fish bone, as well as occasional bird bone. A substantial assemblage of high medieval pottery, mainly Redcliffe and Saintonge ware, was also found in these deposits. It seems likely that the disused kiln functioned as a dump for domestic refuse. The presence of ash and lime deposits is consistent with the identification of the structure as a limekiln.

Compiled by: Paul Walsh

Date of upload: 5 February 2018

References

Delaney, D. 2004 Courthouse Lane (97E82): excavation. In E. FitzPatrick, M. O'Brien and P. Walsh (eds.), Archaeological Investigations in Galway city, 1987-1998, 164-78. Bray. Wordwell.