Structure Forty-Four’s hearth in 3d

Friday, August 7, 2026 (9:05 AM)

Another 3d model from Paul Durdin, this time showing Structure Forty-Four’s central hearth part way through excavation.

This is the fireplace’s second phase of activity, the stone basal slab overlying the ash deposits from the primary phase, which were excavated after this model was created.

You will note the hearthstones were missing from the north‑western and south‑western sides. Hearthstones were often re-used in the Neolithic, moved from an older structure into a new one – perhaps maintaining a tangible link to the past.

The hearth played a major role in Neolithic life.

Fire provided warmth and illumination and, not surprisingly, the hearth was the centre of domestic and social life. Its importance for the maintenance of life also led to the hearth acquiring symbolic significance.

For example, while excavating the Barnhouse Settlement in the 1980s, Professor Colin Richards discovered that the houses’ hearths were arranged on the same alignment — to the midsummer sunrise and sunset and midwinter sunrise and sunset.

The central hearth at the Stones of Stenness. (Sigurd Towrie) — The central hearth at the Stones of Stenness. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

In addition, the hearthstones were often reused when a new structure was constructed, perhaps as a link to the building or people who had gone before.

It is this symbolic function that may account for examples of hearth settings found in decidedly non-domestic locations.

The best-known example of this is at the centre of the Stones of Stenness.

But at Barnhouse’s Structure Eight, a short distance away, a hearth was incorporated at the threshold of the narrow entrance passage, but had been paved over. [1]

The hearth in the middle of the Stones of Stenness had been carefully transplanted from the outskirts of the Barnhouse village to the centre of the stone circle. This not only connected the settlement to the monument but may have held a wider significance:

“The hearth was not simply a symbol of inter-group meetings and ceremonies, but came to embody the relationships and identities of those who participated.” [2]

The original site of the Stones of Stenness hearthstones was also “maintained or remembered” and rebuilt to become the central hearth within Barnhouse’s Structure Eight. [2]

Drone’s eye view of Structure Forty-Four at the end of Day 16.. (📷 Jim Rylatt) — Aerial view of Structure Forty-Four at the end of day 16. (📷 Jim Rylatt)

Compare and contrast. 3d model of Structure Five’s (c.3300BC) hearth with basal slab still in place.

And a model of Structure Five’s hearth after the basal slab was removed to reveal an channel/drain.

Excavation under way around the hearth. (📷 Sigurd Towrie) — 2024: The bottom of Structure Twenty-Seven’s massive rectangular hearth reached. (📷 Sigurd Towrie)

Notes

[1] Hill, J. and Richards, C. (2005) Structure Eight: Monumentality at Barnhouse. In Richards, C. (ed) Dwelling among the monuments: the Neolithic village of Barnhouse, Maeshowe passage grave and surrounding monuments at Stenness, Orkney. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.
[2] Challands, A., Edmonds, M. and Richards, C. (2005) Beyond the Village: Barnhouse Odin and the Stones of Stenness. In Richards, C. (ed) Dwelling among the monuments: the Neolithic village of Barnhouse, Maeshowe passage grave and surrounding monuments at Stenness, Orkney. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.