Monument record MWX3356 - Lime kilns at Portland Castle

A pair of circular lime kilns were revealed in 2001 during archaeological observations of works at Portland Castle. The kilns were associated with extensive lime and mortar mixing deposits.

Watching brief during excavations at Portland castle revealed remains of two lime kilns and extensive lime and mortar mixing deposits directly overlying prehistoric deposits. Limekilns both circular with a combustion chamber close to 4m in diameter. They were built as a pair and stood in the south-west angle of the castle yard. Kiln walls were 1m thick and built of stone and clay. This type commonly in use from Roman times to the 18th and 19th centuries. No ash in mortar use in castle buildings, kilns almost certainly intermittent flare kilns, used throughout the construction of the castle and then dismantled above waste deposit level to make way for earliest buildings in the south-west corner of the yard. Only find was a single fragment of English red brick, possibly intended for use in construction of lime kiln (1)

Record last edited

Dec 16 2013 12:40PM