Lime Pits, Canonbie

Local limestone deposits were first quarried near Canonbie and Sanquhar in the mid 18th Century.  Although limestone can be used as building blocks in the same way as sandstone is used, in this area it was burnt to produce lime.  This was then used as fertiliser or ground into building mortar.  The limestone had first to be burnt in a kiln, using coal as the source of fuel. The close proximity of the coal and limestone made quarrying the relatively small outcrops of limestone economical.   This photograph shows three rectangular entrances cut into a sheer cliff face, with corrugated iron sheds in the foreground.