Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (388 page)

A leguminous plant (Phaseolus acutifolius) with edible seeds in a long pod. Native of South America. Domesticated from
c.
4000 bc.

 
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A type of blade tool retouched along both sides to form a slug-shaped object.

 
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Early Intermediate Period communities living in the central coastal region of Peru.

 
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See
QUICKLIME
.

 
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An industrial-scale structure in which calcium carbonate in the form of limestone or, exceptionally, sea shells, is burnt at temperatures of around 900°C to convert it to
QUICKLIME
. Most limekilns are simple structures with a chamber to contain the material to be burnt mixed with fuel such as wood, charcoal, or coal above a stoke-hole which allows more fuel to be added if necessary and a means of extracting the finished quicklime. Limekilns are often constructed into a hillside so that they can be filled or charged by tipping material into the chamber through a hole in the top, which also serves as a flue. Limekilns of Roman and later date are well known in almost any areas where suitable stone for making quicklime occurs naturally.

 
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The term commonly used for the frontier zone of the Roman empire which is generally believed to have been under direct military control. The term is especially often used for the frontier between the Rhine and the Danube in central Germany and between the Danube and the Black Sea in Dobrudja.

 
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