Informations directionnelles

Descendre jusqu’à la D147 pour la traverser et emprunter le chemin en face. Suivre le chemin jusqu’à la rue de la cavée chatelin. Prendre à droite, puis à gauche. En arrivant sur la rue de Champagne, traverser et continuer à droite sur environ 100 mètres. Quitter la rue de champagne, laisser l’étang des moines sur la gauche, prendre le chemin en face jusqu’au site archéologique des Vaux-de-la-Celle.

Prochain point : lat="49.1199219999869" lon="1.768716"

The lime kilns
An ancient industry

A strategic location…

These four kilns demonstrate the existence of lime manufacture, which required the raw materials of fuel, limestone and water.
Initially, wood from the Bois de Morlû was used as fuel, but when the railway reached Magny-en-Vexin at the end of the 19th century, wood was replaced with charcoal, enabling better controlled firing. Several quarries were dug to extract stone around the edge of the limestone plateau: Les Coudraies, Les Fours, La Voie aux Vaches, Truffaut, Providence and La Carrière Noire. All save for the latter two were open air quarries. Water was brought from the village.

...For locally used material

The manufacturing process consists of firing the stone at a temperature close to 1000°C. This is called calcination, a process in which high levels of carbon dioxide a released, transforming the limestone into “quicklime”. When mixed with large amounts of water, the quicklime becomes slaked lime, or calcium hydroxide, which takes the form of a fine powder. This material is well known for its use in construction work, being mixed with aggregates and water to make plasters and coatings, lime mortar and even lime concrete. Slaked lime provides good circulation for air and moisture.
In 1893, Mister Tricoche renovated the first kiln and built three more. They could fire up to 15m3 of lime per day. The operation then employed 20 workers. These kilns, along with those of Louvière in Omerville supplied all the surrounding masons. The manufacture of lime was suspended during the First World War and was abandoned following the invention of cement.