The traditional lime kilns
A typical Cycladic village is characterised by its simple, roughly cube-shaped, whitewashed houses standing close together.
This preference for white plaster is relatively new; in the Middle Ages, the houses of the villages were unplastered so that they were less visible and therefore less at risk from pirates, who were a major scourge in the Aegean. For the same reason, the larger villages in the Cyclades are almost invariably situated so that they cannot be seen from the sea; harbour settlements are usually more recent offshoots of the medieval villages.
The lime needed to whitewash the houses and alleyways was produced by the villagers themselves in special lime kilns. The remains of such kilns can still be found in many places today, for example near the Pórta, the pass south of Koronos, and on the way to the summit of Mount Zeus; there is also one very close to our home in Ágios Dimítris.
lime kilns near Kóronos
On the hiking trail to the summit of Mount Zeus, one also passes two lime kilns.
The villagers built the lime kilns, the kamínia, in places where both the suitable stones, a special type of marble, and sufficient fuel were available.
The fuel: broom (Genista acanthoclada)
The highly flammable, dense broom bushes (frýgano, Genista acanthoclada = thorny broom) were used to fire the lime kilns. About a month before the setting up of the kamíni, which usually took place shortly before Easter, the broom bushes were cut and laid out to dry, weighed down with large stones. The workers carried the flattened thorny bushes on their sticks over their shoulders to the kamíni, where they were piled up to serve first as a windbreak.
Today, the thorny broom forms dense stands in many places in the mountain region, in which hardly any other plants can grow and which are often almost impenetrable. The broom is particularly dominant in the area of the “Pórta” and on Mávro Voúni, the highest peak of the Koronos Ridge; but it is also common on Mount Zeus and in many other areas.
In the mountains around Kóronos, some slopes are now almost entirely overgrown with broom (Genista acanthoclada).
The thorny broom is also common in Ágios Dimítris. In spring, when the broom is in bloom, the phrygana turns into a sea of yellow, fragrant flowers.
Otherwise the broom is less attractive, especially for the hiker trying to make his way through it.
The dense stands of broom are occasionally burnt by the shepherds so that fresh herbs can grow and the goats and sheep can find food. Fires started in this way or accidentally can burn large areas in the mountains of Naxos and cause major damage.
In the past, due to the high demand for Genista acanthoclada not only for the lime kilns, but also for the kilns of potters and for the bakers’ and household ovens, the broom was much less common on the island than today; the villagers often had to walk long distances to find enough for their uses. Accordingly, the risk of large fires was also much lower: a good example of how the traditional use of the landscape created a harmonious, self-sustaining whole, whereas today, less use as well as more intensive use often creates problems that are almost impossible to solve.
The lime kilns
The lime kilns were always built in the same place, using a round stone wall that looks almost like a windmill stump. A second thick wall made of the limestones to be burnt was piled up within this “building”, closing towards the top in the shape of a dome. At the bottom, a large cavity was left in the centre for the fire with an opening on one side where the broom bushes (frýgana) were pushed in. The top of the dome was covered by a layer of small stones and pebbles.
On the walls of the building you can see that the earth used as mortar is burnt red.
The kiln had to be continuously fuelled with frýgana for two days and nights. The lime was ready when the dome sank in. When the kiln had cooled down, it was broken open and each worker received his share of lime in the form of large lumps, which he kept at home in a dry place.
Remains of the lime can still be found around the former lime kiln.
When the lime was to be used, it was mixed with water and then applied to the walls with a brush made of rushes. The lime was highly caustic, foamed up violently with water and had a strong disinfecting effect. A beautiful and clean house always freshly whitewashed was the pride of the housewife. Many women whitewashed their houses, the small courtyards and the alley in front of the house every week. The white colour also kept the houses much cooler in summer due to the reflection of the sunrays.
Lime kilns were operated on Naxos until the 1960s, and in some cases even into the 1970s.
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