**Archaeological Features of Hearths:**
– Hearth derived from Indo-European root *ker-.
– Common features used for cooking, heating, and resource processing.
– Lined hearths contain fire-cracked rock and waste products.
– Unlined hearths may also contain similar materials.
– Radiocarbon dating used to determine the last use of a hearth.
**Hearth Tax History:**
– Byzantine Empire had a hearth tax called kapnikon.
– England introduced a hearth tax in 1662, charging two shillings per hearth annually.
– Some households and institutions were exempt from the tax.
– William III abolished the hearth tax in 1689.
– Hearth tax records offer insights into house size and distribution.
**Religious and Folklore Associations with Hearths:**
– Greek mythology associates Hestia and Roman mythology with Vesta.
– Zoroastrian traditions in ancient Persia required every house to have a hearth for sacrifices.
– Albanian folk beliefs view the home hearth as a spiritual link between generations.
– Heathen religion uses hearth as a term for a family unit.
**Additional Resources and References:**
– Etymology of root *ker- by etymonline.
– Book: ‘Byzantium in the Seventh Century: the Transformation of a Culture’ by John F. Haldon.
– Federation of Family History Societies’ publication on The Hearth Tax.
– Book: ‘Handbook of classical mythology’ by William F. Hansen.
– Book: ‘A history of Zoroastrianism’ by Mary Boyce.
**External Sources for Further Information:**
– Wikimedia Commons for media related to Hearths.
– Etymology of root *ker- by etymonline.
– Book: ‘Byzantium in the Seventh Century: the Transformation of a Culture’ by John F. Haldon.
– Federation of Family History Societies’ publication on The Hearth Tax.
– Book: ‘Handbook of classical mythology’ by William F. Hansen.
A hearth (/hɑːrθ/) is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by at least a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial wall behind a hearth), fireplace, oven, smoke hood, or chimney. Hearths are usually composed of masonry such as brick or stone. For centuries, the hearth was such an integral part of a home, usually its central and most important feature, that the concept has been generalized to refer to a homeplace or household, as in the terms "hearth and home" and "keep the home fires burning". In the modern era, since the advent of central heating, hearths are usually less central to most people's daily life because the heating of the home is instead done by a furnace or a heating stove, and cooking is instead done with a kitchen stove/range (combination cooktop and oven) alongside other home appliances; thus many homes built in the 20th and 21st centuries do not have hearths. Nonetheless, many homes still have hearths, which still help serve the purposes of warmth, cooking, and comfort.
Before the industrial era, a common design was to place a hearth in the middle of the room as an open hearth, with the smoke rising through the room to a smoke hole in the roof. In later designs which usually had a more solid and continuous roof, the hearth was instead placed to the side of the room and provided with a chimney.
In fireplace design, the hearth is the part of the fireplace where the fire burns, usually consisting of fire brick masonry at floor level or higher, underneath the fireplace mantel.
Definition from ChatGPT:
Hearth:
A hearth is the floor of a fireplace, usually extending into a room and paved with brick, stone, or tile, where a fire can be built for heating or cooking. It is also commonly used to refer to the area around a fireplace where people gather for warmth and comfort.