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conrrirured the entire width of the cart end of the how. taLing up nearly one-third of the
house mterior. The hearth areaconsisled of Woeomponenu: a compact wwnguiar tire
box in the northeast corner. and a worLingniving ma in front of and to the side (south)
of rhe &re box ( Fipr 22b. 33 to 35). Tk tirebox had ken built ~ntotbe nwheirsr
earner of the he& area where it rested m a bed of gravel some 10 cm above the gmund
(Figures 36 and 371. k mearwed 75 cm by 85 em (2.6 by 3') and was constructed eairely
of stone wllh a base mnsating of several tla rlolvr. the lnrgest of which measured 5060
cm wide by 75 cm long. Thir slab war oxidized to a deep ml mlour. hear-fractured in a
number of places and had concretions of imn ewraded onto it (Figure 38). Several other
!Pat slabs ~n fmnr of the fire box did not display ar much heat damage. Tk nonh and east
sides of the fire box were incorporated inm the foundation of the house.
The back and rides of the fire box wm consvvcad fmm long, thin stones. Although
almost the entire east wall of the how war gone (likely collapsed over the slruclurs)
prrhapr as may ar four c-r of the back wall of the tire box were preserved (Figure
39). There rocks were severely emded and heat-fractured c the point where it war
~rnporrible to determine the errt number ofcows remaining. Fine, sandy clay, similar
lo the subrail at Ihe bonom of the bormw pit, war direovcml in assmiadon with the
fireplace stones. Thir clay was m t evident between the wall stones at the mof the fm
box and inn mound immdiarely to the south side of it It my have sewed as =crude
bonding material, cemsnungthe stoms together.