Hearth with cooking utensils

In common historic and modern usage, a hearth ( /ˈhɑrθ/) is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature. This 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 fireplace design, the hearth is often considered the visible elements of the fireplace, with emphasis upon the floor level extension of masonry associated with the fireplace mantel.

Archaeological features[link]

Late medieval tile hearth and associated floor

In archaeology, a hearth is a firepit or other fireplace feature of any period. Initial usage refers to a place of warmth, heat, or fire, or 'heat of earth'. Hearths are common features of many eras going back to prehistoric campsites, and may be either lined with a wide range of materials like stone or left unlined. Hearths were used for cooking, heating, and processing of some stone, wood, faunal, and floral resources. Occasionally site formation processes—e.g., farming or excavation—deform or disperse hearth features, making them difficult to identify without careful study.

Lined hearths are easily identified by the presence of fire-cracked rock, often created when the heat from the fires inside the hearths chemically altered and cracked the stone. Often present are fragmented fish and animal bones, carbonized shell, charcoal, ash, and other waste products, all embedded in a sequence of soil that has been deposited atop the hearth. Unlined hearths, which are less easily identified, may also include these materials. Because of the organic nature of most of these items, they can be used to pinpoint the date the hearth was last used via the process of radiocarbon dating. Although carbon dates can be negatively affected if the users of the hearth burned old wood or coal, the process is typically quite reliable. This was the most common way to cook, and to heat interior spaces in cool seasons.

Hearth tax[link]

In the Byzantine Empire a tax on hearths known as kapnikon was first explicitly mentioned for the reign of Nicephorus I (802–811) although its context implies that it was already then old and established and perhaps it should be taken back to the 7th century AD. Kapnikon was a tax raised on households without exceptions for the poor.^[1]

In England, a tax on hearths was introduced on 19 May 1662. Householders were required to pay a charge of two shillings per annum for each hearth, with half the payment due at Michaelmas and half at Lady Day. Exemptions to the tax were granted, to those in receipt of poor relief, those whose houses were worth less than 20 shillings a year and those who paid neither church nor poor rates. Also exempt were charitable institutions such as schools and almshouses, and industrial hearths with the exception of smiths' forges and bakers' ovens. The returns were lodged with the Clerk of the Peace between 1662 and 1688.^[2]

A revision of the Act in 1664 made the tax payable by all who had more than two chimneys

The tax was abolished by William III in 1689 and the last collection was for Lady Day of that year. It was abolished in Scotland in 1690.^[2]

Hearth tax records are important to local historians as they provide an indication of the size of each assessed house at the time. The numbers of hearths are generally proportional to the size of the house. The assessments can be used to indicate the numbers and local distribution of larger and smaller houses. Not every room had a hearth, and not all houses of the same size had exactly the same number of hearths, so they are not an exact measure of house size. Roehampton University has an ongoing project which places hearth tax data in a national framework by providing a series of standard bands of wealth applicable to each county and city.

Published lists are available of many returns and the original documents are in the Public Record Office. The most informative returns, many of which have been published, occur between 1662–1666 and 1669-1674.

Religion[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)

Hearth is also a term for a kindred, or local worship group, in the neopaganism religion Ásatrú.

In Greek Mythology, Hestia is the goddess of the hearth. In Roman Religion, Vesta is the Goddess of the hearth.

In Ancient Persia, according to Zoroastrian traditions, every house was expected to have a hearth for offering sacrifices and prayers.

See also[link]

• Forge

References[link]

Brian Lee Harris (born November 26, 1966) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Prime Time" Brian Lee. In addition to his time in ECW, he is well known for his first tenure in the World Wrestling Federation, where he portrayed the impostor Undertaker and subsequently feuded with the "real" Undertaker.

Career[link]

Continental Wrestling Association and United States Wrestling Association (1988–1991)[link]

Brian Lee made his debut in 1988 for Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis. In 1989, the CWA merged with World Class Championship Wrestling to form United States Wrestling Association. He would remain with the USWA until 1991.

World Wrestling Federation and Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1991–1995)[link]

He appeared in a dark match at the World Wrestling Federation's 1991 special Tuesday pay-per-view event This Tuesday in Texas.

He appeared in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) from 1992-1995 as "Prime Time" Brian Lee. Lee was a two-time SMW Heavyweight Champion and twice won the SMW Tag Team Championship with partner Chris Candido. Lee was the first-ever SMW Heavyweight Champion, and was also the first wrestler to ever be managed by Tammy Sytch.

In 1994, he briefly joined the World Wrestling Federation to perform as an impostor version of The Undertaker. Ted DiBiase, who originally introduced The Undertaker into the WWF at Survivor Series 1990, claimed to have done it again following The Undertaker's disappearance after the 1994 Royal Rumble. The impostor, who competed for several weeks, was not guided by urns, but rather by "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase's money. Paul Bearer, the manager of The Undertaker, accused DiBiase of lying and claimed that he had "made contact" with the real Undertaker. At SummerSlam '94, the two Undertakers competed in a match (distinguished by grey vs. purple accents on their ring gear), which was won by Paul Bearer's Undertaker. After the match, DiBiase fled from ringside while The Undertaker rolled the impostor into a casket that was taken away by Druids.

After SummerSlam, Lee returned to SMW and also returned to the United States Wrestling Association. It was in the USWA that Lee first teamed with his real life cousins, Ron and Don Harris, then known as the Bruise Brothers.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996–1997)[link]

By early 1996, Lee began competing in Extreme Championship Wrestling. While there, he went by the nicknames "Bulldozer" (or Bulldozer for Hire) and later "Killdozer" and was allied with Raven as a hired bodyguard for his stable.

Lee and Tommy Dreamer then got involved in a very violent and personal feud, which began through Dreamer's feud with Raven. At the ECW event Fight The Power on June 1, during a six man tag match, Brian Lee chokeslammed Dreamer from the ECW balcony through 3 stacked tables, then pinned Dreamer for the win. The footage was frequently used during ECW's opening video montage.

On June 22, at Hardcore Heaven, after losing a singles match to Dreamer after Dreamer's valet Beulah McGillicutty got involved, Lee again chokeslammed Dreamer off a balcony through three tables. At Heat Wave, during a three on three "Rage in the Cage" tag team cage match, Lee again chokeslammed Dreamer, this time from the top of the cage through three tables set up on the outside by Raven's henchmen. On October 5 at Ultimate Jeopardy during a tag match also involving Sandman and Stevie Richards, Lee once again chokeslammed Dreamer from the ECW balcony, this time through four tables set up below.

At several house shows released on ECW Fan Cam, Lee and Dreamer had Falls Count Anywhere matches which resulted in the two men brawling in moving traffic outside the building. The feud culminated at ECW's High Incident event, in the match Lee is most remembered for from his ECW tenure. During his Scaffold Match with Dreamer, Lee took a major bump from the scaffolding high above the ring through a series of tables stacked up inside the ring.

At November to Remember, the main event was a tag match pitting Dreamer with Terry Funk against Shane Douglas and Lee. From here, Lee began a feud with Funk, which lasted until 1997. Lee also became a part of the revived Triple Threat stable with Douglas and Chris Candido, while a masked man who was hinted at to be Rick Rude began stalking Douglas. At ECW's first pay per view event, ECW Barely Legal, it was revealed that the masked man was Lee himself. He was promptly attacked and kicked out of the group and his spot was subsequently taken by Bam Bam Bigelow. Lee left ECW soon after.

Return to the WWF (1997–1998)[link]

In 1997, Lee returned to the WWF as "Chainz", a member of the biker faction Disciples of Apocalypse (or DOA) along with leader Crush and his cousins, the Harris Brothers, who were renamed Skull and 8-Ball. The foursome feuded with Los Boricuas, the Nation of Domination, and the Truth Commission during the WWF's "Gang Warz" storyline. Lee remained in the WWF until the summer of 1998 when he was released once again. Lee was said to have been released by the WWF for having a real life affair with the first wife of his real life good friend The Undertaker. This was also said to be the event that caused his career to have a tremendous downfall after the WWF.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2003)[link]

After several years out of the spotlight, Lee debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002, teaming with Slash as the Disciples of The New Church under the leadership of manager Father James Mitchell. On November 13, Lee and Slash won the NWA World Tag Team Championship when they defeated America's Most Wanted ("Cowboy" James Storm and "Wildcat" Chris Harris), thereby ending their undefeated streak. The later lost the titles back to AMW on January 8, 2003.

Lee left the company soon after the title loss and has only appeared from time to time on smaller independent events since, until he retired in 2004, after wrestling a Legends event for Memphis Wrestling on December 26.

Other media[link]

Lee appeared in the Bollywood film Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi under "The Undertaker" name.

In October 2010 during an interview on Tha O Show, Brian James (Road Dogg/B.G. James) claimed that Brian Lee had recently died. Internet speculation is that he simply confused him with Brian Adams (Crush), a previously deceased wrestler.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • Cancellation (Canadian backbreaker rack drop)^[1]
  • Primetime Slam (Chokeslam)

• Signature moves
  • Death Valley driver
  • Diving knee drop
  • Drop toe-hold
  • Implant DDT
  • Kneeling belly to belly piledriver
  • Neckbreaker
  • Running leaping clothesline
  • Seated senton to an opponent's leg draped over the first rope
  • Spinebuster
  • Standing camel clutch

• Managers
  • Ted DiBiase
  • Downtown Bruno^[2]
  • Ron Fuller^[3]
  • James Mitchell

• Nicknames
  • "The Bulldozer" / "The Bulldozer for Hire"
  • "The Killdozer"
  • "Prime Time"

• Theme Music
  • "Everybody Wants You" by Billy Squire (SMW, 1991–1993)
  • "Back In The Saddle" by Aerosmith (SMW, 1993–1994)
  • "Train" by Blackfoot (ECW, 1996–1997)

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Continental Wrestling Association

• CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• CWA Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Robert Fuller (1) and The Grappler (1)

• Southeastern Championship Wrestling

• NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jimmy Golden

• Smoky Mountain Wrestling

• SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship (2 times)
• SMW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• SMW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Chris Candido

• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

• NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Slash

• United States Wrestling Association

• USWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• USWA World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Robert Fuller (3) and Don Harris (1)

• World Class Wrestling Association

• WCWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Robert Fuller

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI ranked him # 476 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

• Worst Feud of the Year (1997) vs. Los Boricuas

References[link]