Station: [3] The mortar pit

No castle without stones. But what good are the best bricks and stones, if they won’t stick together? That’s what bricklayers need mortar for, and quite a lot of it, too. Mortar is mixed together in the mortar pit from lime, sand, water and sometimes other ingredients. The mixing proportion is what counts here, which is why all bricklayers and plasters send their assistants to the mortar pit. Incidentally, the wooden roof above the pit isn’t intended to keep the men dry while they’re working – it is meant to prevent the mortar from drying out in the sun.