VSF 2010 Report - Nabo

Around the edge of the hearth pit was a turf deposit, up to 15 cm high (unit
[10542]), probably to prevent burning material spilling out of it.
As mentioned above, the main reason for extending the excavation area had been to
get a clearer view of the turf wall, running north-south that had been partially uncovered in
Figure 10. Hearth (10540). Facing north
2009. The removal of the aforementioned post-abandonment deposits had revealed the full
width of the wall, running a long the eastern edge of the new area. The wall was up to
three metres thick, which suggests that it was an external wall. Hearth (10540) was
therefore in all likelihood external, which is also supported by the absence of floor deposits
associated with it.
The removal of the collapse deposits, mentioned above, also revealed the base of a
turf and stone wall, subgroup (10549), composed of a turf core (strengur), unit [10548],
with a stone facing, unit [10547], on either side. The wall, which appeared to be
contemporary with hearth (10540), ran east-west from the aforementioned external wall,
about 4 m from the northern limits of excavation and extended beyond the western limits of
the excavation area.
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