A Roman brick-kiln, dating from the fourth century AD, was transported around 2.5 km from its place of discovery in the «Parc d'activités Capellen» (Luxembourg) to its new location in the Villa Risch park. For the journey, the 5.4m x 5.4m, 92t kiln had to be encased in a concrete jacket.

Damage protection
After the kiln had been excavated, a series of boreholes were made on the underside. Twenty eight steel pipes were inserted which formed the base of the «casing». The sides of this portable foundation were formed with concrete slabs design to protect the kiln from lateral impacts and to retain the packing material. To prevent the kiln from collapsing under its own weight, the coffer was packed with sand.
Finally Riedl & Tschierschke GmbH, a German specialist, installed a system of hydraulic jacks under the assembly to raise it off the ground. Riedl & Tschierschke was thus responsible for the «first 20 cm of the journey». After two hours the kiln had been finally raised to the required height. Then wooden beams were laid under the kiln and the raising gear could be removed.
The following day, ATS Cranes SA supplied a 700 t crane to lift the coffer from its wooden raft to a 10-axled low-loader for the next stage of its journey.

Pressure could be equally distributed during the hydraulic lifting procedure thanks to the use of electronic load detection cells.
Photo: Riedl & Tschierschke

At snail's pace
Then the 5.4 metre wide convoy, consisting of a trailer, the kiln, a crane and two tractor units with their counterbalances crept along at a maximum of 25 km/h through the centre of the village Capellen. The kiln was unloaded by a mobile crane in the Villa Risch park. The concrete jacket was removed from furnace and now visitors can look inside this remarkable Roman brick-kiln.