Tourkovigla Lime Kiln

This lime kiln is located in Turkovigla, where it is reported that Turks had been killed. Until the 1950s, the necessary lime was produced in the lime furnaces of the island. Thislime kiln was “burned” at least twice. The last time was in 1946. The furnace process was demanding, a combination of technique, empirical knowledge and mastery. The so-called “kaminades” were skilled craftsmen, who built small teams of two to five people and shared the workload and revenues from the sale of lime. Two elements were necessary to select the appropriate location: limestone and vegetation. First they built the “kazani” of the furnace, the large pit with the built walls, which is still visible. Then, they closed the kazani by building a vaulted room, leaving two or four openings, the “pores”, from which they fed the fire. Over the dome, they loaded all the remaining stones. The entire load of stone that turned to lime was called “gomari”. In the upper part of the furnace, the “hood”, they put an “askela” (Drimia maritime) for good luck. The furnace had to bake limestones for at least three days in a row at temperatures above 1000° C and the surrounding vegetation, the “branch”, constituted the fuel material (skinos, prinos and phrygana). A good lime kiln could produce more than 30 tons of lime. Locals say that this lime was of better quality than the one we produce today.