making lime from limestone or a biological source such as shell or bone is the first stage of the parchment making process
it needs to burn at 900 degrees C to leave calcium oxide from shells
this burn was done with clam shells that are readily available around the North East coast, once the temperature is right the flames shoot straight out the top with no smoke. After an hour of burning and being left to cool the now white pure calcium oxide shells can be carefully picked out and mixed with water to make hydrated lime.
