Structure E was a brick foundation, 17 feet by 32 feet, situated at the
northwest corner of the enclosure-wall system. Its south wall was
continuous with Wall D, which joined it, and was at right angles to Wall
E. The latter abutted it in line with an interior foundation wall which
bisected the structure into two room areas, designated X and Y. Thus it
once stood like a bastion extending outside the enclosure walls, but
remaining integral with them and affording a controlled entrance to the
enclosure (fig. 46).
The east end of Structure E extended under a modern boundary fence to
the present edge of the highway. Ditching of the highway had cut into
the foundation and exposed the debris and slabs of stone in place, which
indeed had provided the first clues to the existence of the structure.
Clearance of the easterly area, Room X, revealed a pavement of roughly
rectangular slabs of mixed Aquia-type lime-sandstone and red sandstone.
These slabs were flaked, eroded, and discolored, as though they had been
exposed to great heat. The pavement was not complete, some stones having
apparently been removed. The scattered locations of the stones remaining
_in situ_ implied that the entire room was originally paved.
Between the northwest corner of Room X and a brick abutment 5 feet to
the south was a rectangular area where the clay underlying the room had
been baked to a hard, red, bricklike mass (fig. 49). Wood ash was
admixed with the clay. This was clearly the site of a large fireplace,
where constant heat from a now-removed hearth had penetrated the clay.
Extending north 3.8 feet beyond the bounds of the room at this point was
a U-shaped brick foundation 4.75 feet wide. Near the southeast corner of
the room, just outside of the foundation, which it abutted, was a
well-worn red-sandstone doorstep, which located the site of the door
communicating between Structure E and the interior of the
enclosure--and, of course, between Structure E and Structure B, the
distance between which was 100 feet.
Room Y, extending west beyond the corner of the enclosure walls was
perhaps an addition to the original structure. The disturbed condition
of the bricks where this area joined Room X, however, obscured any
evidence in this respect. In the northeast corner, against the opposite
side of the fireplace wall in Room X, was another area of red-burned
clay. Lying across this was a long, narrow slab of wrought iron, 34.5 by
6 inches (fig. 50), which may have served in some fashion as part of a
stove or fire frame. In any case, a small fireplace seems to have been
located here. Approximately midway in the west wall of Room Y, against
the exterior, lay a broken slab of red sandstone, which obviously also
served as a doorstone. That it had been designed originally for a more
sophisticated purpose is evident in the architectural treatment of the
stone, which is smoothly dressed with a torus molding along each edge
and a diagonal cut across one end (fig. 41). No evidence of floor
remained in this room, except for a smooth surface of yellow clay which
became sticky when exposed to rain.
[Illustration: Figure 47.--FOUNDATION of Structure E (kitchen).]
The north half of Room Y was filled with broken bricks, mortar, plaster,
nails, and--significantly--small bits of charred wood and burned
hornets' nests. The concentration of debris here could be explained by
the collapse of the chimney as well as the interior wall into the room.
The crumbly condition of the southwest portion of the exterior-wall
foundation also may indicate a wall collapse. Few artifacts were
recovered in this area.
North of Room X lay a large amount of rubble and artifacts, suggesting
that the north wall had fallen away from the building, perhaps carrying
with it shelves of dishes and utensils. Both rooms contained ample
evidence in the form of ash, charcoal, burned hornets' nests, and
scorched flagstones to demonstrate that a fire of great heat had
destroyed the building.