Is this normal for an ash dump?

[ksimm033]

House was built in 1976 and I just purchased it a few months back. Used my fireplace a couple times since then and decided to vacuum out the ash for the first time....this is where it got a little interesting....looks like there's an ash dump, but you would of never been able to tell prior to cleaning. The hole was jammed with dirt and debris. After vacuuming out the hole, noticed that it leads down a shaft to a pit about 10 feet down. I do have an ash clean out, but its on the outside the house above the basement level near the driveway. Looks like the ash clean out is mid way in the shaft, as I can open the little door on the outside and see that there is a shaft going below and above the ash clean out.

Is this normal? How do I seal off the ash dump with insulation to just vacuum the ash as I go from the fireplace?

Also there is no access to the ash pit at the bottom of the hole.