The discovery of a corn drying kiln attached to the subsidiary structure on mound 3 has resolved a number of problems in the interpretation of this structure. The rather unusual shape would appear to be a distinctive feature of the design used to control air flow into the interior of the kiln flue. Similar considerations explain the presence of the east entrance which would appear to be a hole, rather than a point of access, used to create a through draft for winnowing. It appears that the building was used for a variety of crop related processing. There is clear evidence for grain drying and winnowing, and the presence of large quantities of carbonised grain in the floor suggests deliberate charring of some of the grain.
Storage is also likely.
The absence of querns is interesting. One would not necessarily expect milling of the grain to take place in the mound 3 structure. It is more likely to occur in either in the domestic sphere of the house or in the separate communal context of the mill. However, both of these hypothesis are slightly problematic. So far no querns have been found anywhere on the site, and mills, though known, are not a common feature in the South Uist landscape.