History of Lime

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The lime was discovered thousands of years ago

Prehistoric man discovered lime soon as he began to use fire. Limestone rocks surrounding the burning fireplace gradually decarbonated. Later the rain was converting the quick lime into lime putty …

Lime production began along with the use of stone as a building material. The first organized production dated back around 10 000 years ago in Mesopotamia.

From the 6th century BC all civilizations of antiquity – Egyptians, Etruscans, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans used lime as a binding substance in construction.

Incas and Mayans were also familiar with lime.

The Chinese used it in the construction of the Great Chinese Wall.

5 000 years ago the Tibetan monks stabilized clay soils with lime prior to building their temples on it.

Use of lime in ancient Rome and in the Middle Ages

In ancient Rome the quick lime was used for drying wet soils, since in the process of slaking the lime absorbs water of about one-third of its own weight. The Romans were the ones who turned lime into main building material and made possible the development of modern architecture.

In Medieval times the alchemists discovered the caustic properties of lime and used it for the production of a type of soap.

From the 17th to the 19th century lime was a subject of various studies. In the 18th century the Englishman Black and the Frenchman Lavoisier studied and described the chemical reactions involved in the obtaining and processing of lime.
A century later Vika, Debre and Le Chatelier added to their work and made possible its many applications.

Besides as a binding item in structures, ancient civilizations used lime for plasters and decorations – paintings, marble imitations, ornaments. Lime was used also for production of frescoes, linking into a whole aesthetics and technology, art and craft.

Use of lime in Bulgarian lands

In Bulgarian lands lime had been known since ancient times and was used as a building material by all civilizations that inhabited them. Evidence of this are the numerous architectural and historical monuments – Thracian, Byzantine, Roman, Old Bulgarian.

During the Renaissance lime was used extensively in the construction of stone houses, churches, bridges …

Our biggest Renaissance builder Usta Kolyo Ficheto used lime putty in making plasters and finely crushed quick lime as well for the masonries, thanks to which they became more durable.

The Lime in Our Time

Nowadays lime production is a high-tech process, thanks to which a product with an exceptional quality is manufactured, widely used in various industries and in the household.