Hearth
Description
Mats Holmlund
A hearth or bench is located along the south wall and close to the east corner. It is approximately 1.68 m wide, between 0.70 and 0.90 m deep, and up to 0.50 m high. For the most part it is made up of smaller stones and mortar, but the eastern top part of it consists of a large lava stone block. The block is 0.65 m wide at its widest point, 0.92 m deep, and between 0.20 and 0.25 m thick.
Since the lava stone block is not completely rectangular, there is a small gap between the south wall and the stone at the southeast corner. The gap is circa 0.35 m wide and 0.10 m deep. At the bottom of the gap (below the lava stone block), there is a part of a roof tile placed along the wall and tilting slightly towards the floor of the southeast corner of the room. The function of the tile (if any) is uncertain.
It is difficult to determine the function of the hearth/bench as a hole, due to the fact that it is hard to acertain whether or not the hearth/bench is an original feature of the taberna or if it is a later reconstruction.
