The hearth was located in a shallow depression at the center of the house. It was in the form of a basin about four feet in diameter and one foot deep. The sandy soil underlying the hearth had been burned to a deep reddish color.
Fig. 5
HARROUN SITE
41 UR 10
PLAN OF HOUSE NO. 3
MOUND B
post mold, exterior wall
post mold, interior
post mold, entrance
central hearth
stump disturbance
From all indications this house was constructed in a manner similar to that described by early Spanish and French explorers in the Caddoan Area (Swanton, 1942: 148-154). A ring of poles, each with its base end set in a deep hole, was placed in upright position around a tall center post used as a work platform. The tops of the poles were drawn together at the center and bound. Small tree branches were then woven, horizontally, between the upright poles, grass thatching was applied, and, in some cases, the exterior was plastered with a coat of clay mud. (Many pieces of burned clay daub, some bearing impressions of sticks and grass, were found on and above the floors of all the houses at the Harroun Site.) After the house was completed, the center post, used only to facilitate construction, was removed. Interior support posts may have been added, and platforms for sleeping or storage were built inside the house.
DISCUSSION
House No. 3, a circular, wattle-and-daub structure with a southeastern entranceway, was built on the surface of the Cypress Creek floodplain. There were probably four interior roof support posts, two or more interior platforms for sleeping or storage, and a centrally located, prepared hearth with a clay base. Possibly, a low embankment of sand was thrown against the wall around the exterior of the house.
The period of occupation at the house is unknown, but the scarcity of artifacts suggests that it was of short duration, or else that it was used for specialized—perhaps ceremonial—purposes. A domiciliary structure ordinarily would have much more cultural refuse about it than did House No. 3, unless it was occupied for only a very brief period of time. Stone chips and a few artifacts in the floodplain beneath the house floor indicate that the spot had been lightly occupied prior to the construction of the house.
That House No. 3 burned is evident from the charred poles and bits of heavily burned, wattle-impressed, clay daub lying on and above the house floor. Shortly after the burning, a mound of sandy soil, undoubtedly derived from the adjacent surface of the floodplain, was heaped over the house ruins.
Burial of the house remains beneath a mound implies that the house had a special significance, possibly of a ceremonial nature. Consequently it may be conjectured that perhaps House No. 3 was a small temple or chapel which was ceremonially burned and buried.