Since the interior of this structure was not excavated, many
uncertainties remain as to its identity. The peculiar fluelike
structure passing through its foundation, the rubble of bricks used to
form the foundation, the huge quantities of oystershells in the flue,
with partly burnt coals underneath, give rise to various speculations.
So does the orientation of the structure, which is off both the true and
polar axes and is also unrelated to the mansion or the wall system.
The most likely explanation seems to be that Structure F was the
foundation of a smokehouse. A recently excavated foundation in what was
known as Brunswick Town, North Carolina, is almost identical (except for
the use of ballast stone in the fire chamber and the building
foundation). This also is believed to be a smokehouse foundation, since
similar structures are still remembered from the days of their
use.[159]
[Illustration: Figure 53.--VIRGINIA BRICK from Structure B (left) 9 by 4
by 2-3/4 inches. Right, small brick from Structure F, probably imported,
7-1/4 by 3-1/2 by 1-3/4 inches. Perhaps one of the 630 bricks brought on
the _Marigold_ by Captain Roger Lyndon and purchased by John Mercer.]
The position of the Marlborough structure, outside of the enclosure wall
but not far from the kitchen, the relative crudeness of its
construction, and its off-axis orientation, support the likelihood of
its being a utilitarian structure. The firing chamber and the flue show
unquestionably that it was a building requiring heat or smoke.
Marlborough had two greenhouses, according to Thomas Oliver's inventory,
and these would have required heating equipment. But the small size of
this structure and the absence of any indication of tile flooring or
other elaboration suggested by contemporary descriptions of greenhouses
seem to rule out this possibility.
[Illustration: Figure 54.--STRUCTURE D, an unidentified structure with
debris-filled refuse pit at left.]