“Calerín” Lime Kiln

History and Restoration

In 2018, Mr. Rafael Rodríguez Haro agreed with the City Council on the selfless donation of 2,350 square meters of land to allow the Local Entity to recover this local anthropological heritage, a gesture of generosity and recognition towards the Town of Villaharta.

After years of abandonment, the restoration work consisted of clearing, reconstructing the curb, excavating the mouth of the kiln, and adapting the surroundings with information panels, managing to make visible the hard work of those who carried out these tasks in the past.

What is a Calerín?

A calerín is a type of artisanal kiln, generally circular in plan and excavated into the ground, designed for the calcination of limestone. The Calerín de la Moheda is a restored example where heat transformed calcium carbonate into quicklime.

Technical structure: They took advantage of the unevenness of the terrain for thermal insulation. It consists of a cylindrical hole about 2 meters wide, a mouth or hearth where the fuel was introduced, and the critical “false vault” of manually placed limestones.

The Process: The firing lasted between 3 days and 2 uninterrupted nights at temperatures up to 1000°C. Once cooled, the lime was used for construction (mortar), hygiene (whitewashing facades as a natural disinfectant), and agriculture.