Archaeology Notes

Event ID 778692

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/778692

NT08SE 32.00 06422 83561

NT08SE 32.01 0651 8413 Charlestown, West Quarry Limestone Quarry; Mine

For associated and adjacent (to S) Charlestown harbour, see NT08SE 31.

(Location cited as NT 065 835). Limekilns, built from c.1761. A long range of fourteen kilns, of some complexity, all built of dressed stone. Served by Charlestown Harbour (NT08SE 32) and the Elgin Railway (a horse-tramway), and later by a North British Rly branch (now lifted). The largest group of kilns in Scotland.

J R Hume 1976.

On the N side of East Harbour Road, the massive remains of limekilns, the first nine built in 1777-8, and the other five in 1792.

J Gifford 1988.

NT 064 835 Prior to the construction of an interpretation centre in the area of the E kilnhead, an archaeological watching brief was carried out by Scotia Archaeology Ltd during the machine removal of overburden. Elements of two buildings constructed of concrete, lime blocks and bricks, and eight separate concrete plinths were uncovered. All of these structures are thought to be of early 20th-century date and to have been associated with a limestone-crushing plant installed within the limits of the easternmost kilns.

Sponsor: Broomhall Estate.

R Murdoch 1996

Site recorded by Maritime Fife during the Coastal Assessment Survey for Historic Scotland, Kincardine to Fife Ness 1996

NT 063 835 Three exploratory trenches were excavated by Scotia Archaeology Ltd in advance of the proposed construction of a stair and lift for visitor access between the two levels of the site. The trenches were located in the angle between the E end of the line of kilns and the base of the retaining wall to its rear.

The fragmentary remains of masonry and brick walls near to the retaining wall were probably associated with the building whose roof raggles are still visible in its S face. Part of the concrete floor of this building was also revealed. To the immediate E of the kilns were two narrow brick walls, aligned N-S and barely 1m apart, with a connecting wall at their S ends. Piercing the S wall of this structure was a cast-iron pipe, anchored by a pad of concrete which extended beyond the trench edge. All of the excavated features were probably associated with the crushing plant built over the four easternmost kilns earlier this century.

Limited trenching at the W end of the site failed to confirm whether there was a flight of steps connecting the upper and lower levels of the works.

Sponsor: Broomhall Estate.

R Murdoch 1997

NT 066 835 Excavation to the front (S) of Kiln 11 (numbered from the E) was undertaken following the consolidation of the kiln's masonry and as part of a programme to display the kiln to the public. Kiln 11 is thought to date from the 19th century when four kilns were added to those built a century earlier.

Initially, two exploratory trenches were excavated to assess the nature and depth of the materials deposited since the limeworks was abandoned in 1957 (NMRS NT08SE 32). The main excavation was carried out over an area measuring roughly 10-15 x 10-12m. Below modern debris and kiln waste were several features of interest. These included two rows of three concrete plinths which, together with large beam sockets in the kiln wall, are thought to be elements of a structure once set against the front of the building. Against the faces of Kilns 11 and 12 were the decayed remains of numerous timber sleepers, remnants of the light railways that carried the processed lime away. At the S end of the trench was a crude metalled surface of hard-packed limestone rubble which once had probably extended over a much wider area.

Sponsor: Scottish Lime Centre.

J Lewis 2000.

These kilns are open to easy public access, from the road to the S. Explanatory panels have been provided as an aid to visitor interpretation.

These kilns are depicted, but not noted, on the 1975 edition of the OS 1:10,000 map. The available map evidence (GIS AIB) indicates that the frontage of the kilns extends from NT c. 06375 83564 to Nt c. 06500 83549.

Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 30 March 2006.