WoSAS Pin 62822
NS 3364 8214
A: A lime kiln is depicted on the First Edition OS map annotated as 'old lime kiln'. Field survey recorded that the kiln survives on a shallow plateau adjacent to a burn within an incised gorge. It has an external diameter of 6m by 2.5m internally. The feature had a central depression 1m deep.
B: Field survey located the remains of a probable lime kiln not depicted on OS mapping. The kiln had a 5m external diameter with an internal diameter of a 2.5m and survived as a shallow circular depression and accompanying bank.
C: Field survey recorded an intermittent boulder boundary or stone revetment which ran east past kiln B. It survives to a maximum height of 1.5m by 2.5m in width as a moss covered stone bank. It appears to continue across the Red Burn in two places. It seems reasonable to infer its provenance is connected to the activity associated with the lime kilns in this area. The feature is not depicted on any OS Mapping.
D: Field survey recorded a probable lime kiln with an external diameter of 5m. Internally the feature had a diameter of 4m with a 2m depression in its centre. A probable entrance extended northwards measuring c.4m long by 1m wide. The location of this feature is c. 20m above the valley floor. It is not depicted on any OS Mapping.
E: Field survey recorded a probable lime kiln measuring 5m in diameter. Its character is similar to those described above. An entrance or stokehole was noted to the north of the feature, 0.5m wide. This is one of several features probably associated with small scale lime production in this area. The feature is not depicted on any OS mapping.
Moore, P., 'Camis Eskan, Argyll and Bute: Archaeological Appraisal', CFA Archaeology Ltd (2010)
Entered WoSAS (MO'H), 29/06/10
The ruin is located on the southern side of the Red Burn, at the bottom of the valley, and is located within a small loop in the burn's course. The first-edition OS map, surveyed in 1860, records an "old limekiln" here. The remains of the kiln are visible at NS 33636 82137 as a small turf-covered knoll, approximately 3 metres in diameter, with a central depression. It is located immediately to the south of the Red Burn; the side of the ruin nearest the burn has partially collapsed, and a few stones, possibly from the wall of the kiln, are scattered there.
Only a short distance downstream are some exposed strata of Ballagan Beds; these contain layers of cementstone nodules. Such nodules, consisting of an impure form of limestone, may have provided some of the raw material for the kiln.
In its appearance, the ruin is identical to the numerous examples that survive alongside the Murroch Burn (NS4178) and in the neighbouring Auchenreoch Glen.
D. Ure, in his "General View of the Agriculture in the County of Dumbarton" (1794) gives a recognisable description of the Ballagan Beds, and of the layers of cementstone nodules; he calls this material "cam-stone (glen-stone)", and notes that, in this area, "a good deal of the stone is burnt" for lime; the book gives a detailed account of the process.
Information from Cameron, D.A., 11/04/11