THE FLOOR OF THE STOREY

After we have removed the lateral walls fall down on the floor (we have reconstruct their structure), we have noticed that the floor present some broken areas (some of them raised up, even vertically). These areas correspond with the postholes that sustain the storey. On different levels, when we take out the ruins, the postholes can be seen very well (fig. 22a-b).

 

Fig. 22. The storey floor and traces of the posts 

Fig. 23. Split beams structure from the floor 

Postholes are arranged in two lines: one to the S, the other, 2 m far, is going to the E (fig. 22 down).

The storey floor structure (fig. 23-26)
The storey floor has a massive structure that consist of splitter beams (fig. 23), arranged on to another; sometime distance between them is 1 cm, seldom bigger (3-4 cm). The fire was very strong, but we did not find trace of vitreous. Fire destroys all beams, so no traces of charcoal.

Fig. 24. Structure, a) dimension, b) beam order on the storey  structure

The longitudinal beams covered by clay have been N-S oriented, while the transversal beam (under the first ones) was E-W; to its E limit was one of the largest pits, with two three post traces.

THE FIRST HEARTHS

Fig. 25 a) place of the hearths, b) hearth 1

We believe that the transversal beam was put on its border (we can not specify its thickness).
Generally the transversal beams do not let traces, while they are covered by the longitudinal ones, covered by clay. On the storey houses we find sometime transversal beams, thicker or arranged on their border (Lazarovici et alii 2001, p. 168, fig. 124). The longitudinal beams we can see in fig. 26.

Fig. 26. Room C, House of the Deer. Structure of the storey floor and profile through the oven

On the walking levels we have discovered traces of some unmanaged hearths, maybe seasonally (in colder season can be moved in relation with the winds), or used for other reasons. Before the oven was built, on the first levels, on the S-E corner we find hearths. Hearth 1 was dislocated, hearth 2 was cut. The last hearth was 8-9 cm thick, showing a strong fire and her surface was a little bit vitreous. We believe that here pots have been fired. 

THE OVEN

We start to investigate this oven in 2005 (the back part and the inner vault: Lazarovici et alii 2005, fig. 25-26; Lazarovici, Merlini 2005, fig. 26). In 2006 we focus our attention to the interior of the oven.
On the interior edge of the oven we noticed the floor plasters; these indicate that the oven was built in an earlier stage but not in the earliest (fig. 25a). In the oven area traces of walls from the ground floor and storey have been noticed (those from the storey we take out in 2005).
When we have investigated the oven we noticed that has two repairs of the hearth and of the vault (made from the interior). Some repairs have been made even on the oven exterior (here traces of the fire were from two directions: from the interior when was used; from exterior, when house and storey fired). We believe that the oven has three stages of use (the building moment and two repairs).  We have kept some parts of the oven hearths (interior and exterior) to prove the building stages.

Fig. 27 : a) oven structure under the ruins; b) vaults and hearths after we take out the ruins

Reparations on the hearth and interior vault can be seen in fig. 27-28.

Fig. 28a. Oven, hearths, vaults during and after we take out the ruins

 
The exterior repairs can be seen in fig. 27b.
One unsolved yet problem is the high of the plaster on the exterior vault of the oven. We reach these on 10 -15 cm, but can be higher (after the vault collapse, the room was burned and destroy, so is difficult to establish all strata affiliation).

Fig. 29.  Oven with hearths (V1-V3), vault (b1-b3) and floors (p1-p3 )
that cover the exterior vault of the oven 

We have noticed several details when studied the repairs. They show a high standard of mastership of Parta builders, their knowledge and technologies.
This room seems to be used as a household area, oven being used for cooking and warming during the cool season. Better built is the second hearth of the oven, well bitten comparing with hearth 1 and 3. On this floor they can fire pottery.