The
roundhouse is a type of house with a circular plan, originally built in western
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
before the Roman occupation using walls made either of stone or of wooden posts joined by wattle-and-daub panels and a conical
thatchedThatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
roof. Roundhouses ranged in size from less than 5m in diameter to over 15m. In the later part of the 20th century modern designs of roundhouse eco-buildings started to be built using techniques such as cob,
CordwoodCordwood construction is a term used for a natural building method in which "cordwood" or short pieces of debarked tree are laid up crosswise with masonry or cob mixtures to build a wall.-Construction:Walls are usually constructed such that the pieces of wood are "proud" of...
or
straw bale wallsStraw-bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw as structural elements, building insulation, or both...
and
reciprocal frameA reciprocal frame is a class of self-supporting structure made of three or more beams and which requires no center support to create roofs, bridges or similar structures.-Construction:...
green roofA green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...
s.
British Isles
Roundhouses have been built in
BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
since the
Iron AgeThe British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
. They used walls made either of stone or of wooden posts joined by wattle-and-daub panels and a conical
thatchedThatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
roof and ranged in size from less than 5m in diameter to over 15m. The
Atlantic roundhouseIn archaeology, an Atlantic roundhouse is an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and western parts of mainland Scotland, the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.-Types of structure:...
,
BrochA broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Brochs include some of the most sophisticated examples of drystone architecture ever created, and belong to the classification "complex Atlantic Roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s....
and
WheelhouseIn archaeology, a wheelhouse is a prehistoric structure from the Iron Age found in Scotland. The term was first coined after the discovery of a ruined mound in 1855. The distinctive architectural form related to the complex roundhouses, constitute the main settlement type in the Western Isles, in...
styles were used in Scotland.
Most of what is assumed about these structures is derived from the layout of the post-holes, although a few timbers have been found preserved in
bogA bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s. The rest has been filled in by
experimental archaeologyExperimental archaeology employs a number of different methods, techniques, analyses, and approaches in order to generate and test hypotheses, based upon archaeological source material, like ancient structures or artifacts. It should not be confused with primitive technology which is not concerned...
, which has shown the most likely form and function of the buildings. For example, experiments have shown that a conical roof with a pitch of about 45 degrees would have been the strongest and most efficient design.
Peter J. Reynolds also demonstrated that, although a central fire would have been lit inside for heating and cooking, there could not have been a smoke hole in the apex of the roof, for this would have caused an updraft that would have rapidly set fire to the thatch. Instead, smoke would have accumulated harmlessly inside the roof space, and slowly leaked out through the thatch. Many modern simulations of roundhouses have been built, including:
- Bodrifty Iron Age Settlement, Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England
- Brigantium Archeological Centre, High Rochester, Northumberland
- Butser Ancient Farm
- External links :* * *...
, HampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
- Cae Mabon
Cae Mabon is a retreat centre in North Wales. It is set in an oak forest close to the remnants of Dinorwic Quarry and on the opposite side of the Padarn lake from the town of Llanberis....
, Wales
- Castell Henllys
Castell Henllys is an important archaeological site in north Pembrokeshire, Wales, between Newport and Cardigan....
, PembrokeshirePembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
- Cockley Cley, near Swaffham
Swaffham is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is situated east of King's Lynn and west of Norwich.The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 6,935 in 3,130 households...
, NorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
- Flag Fen
Flag Fen near Peterborough, England is a Bronze Age site, probably religious. It comprises over 60,000 timbers arranged in five very long rows connecting Whittlesey Island with Peterborough across the wet fenland. Part way across the structure, a small island was formed which is where it is...
near PeterboroughPeterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
, England
- Mellor roundhouse reconstruction, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
- Peat Moors Visitors Centre, Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
- St Fagans National History Museum
St Fagans National History Museum , commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture and architecture of the Welsh people...
, South GlamorganSouth Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales.It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area...
, WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
- Scottish Crannog
A crannog is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters of Scotland and Ireland. Crannogs were used as dwellings over five millennia from the European Neolithic Period, to as late as the 17th/early 18th century although in Scotland,...
Centre, roundhouse reconstruction on a man made island, Loch TayLoch Tay is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the district of Perthshire.It is a long narrow loch of around 14 miles long, and typically around 1 to 1½ miles wide, following the line of the valley from the south west to north east...
, PerthshirePerthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
, ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
- Tatton Iron Age roundhouse and pit, Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Modern British roundhouses
New designs of roundhouse are again being built in the Britain and elsewhere. In the UK straw bale construction or cordwood walls with
reciprocal frameA reciprocal frame is a class of self-supporting structure made of three or more beams and which requires no center support to create roofs, bridges or similar structures.-Construction:...
green roofA green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...
s are used.
That Roundhouse is an early example of a modern roundhouse dwelling which was built in
Pembrokeshire Coast National ParkPembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales.It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
without planning permission as part of the
Brithdir MawrBrithdir Mawr is an Intentional Community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The name is Welsh for "Great Speckled Land".-Community:The community is based on a farm. It is home to 10 adults and 4 children who live in individual family flats around the farmyard. The land is farmed organically and the...
village which was discovered by the authorities in 1998. It is constructed from a wooden frame of hand-cut Douglas Fir forest thinnings with cordwood infill, and reciprocal frame turf roof based on
permaculturePermaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
principles mainly from local natural resources. It was subject to lengthy planning battle including a court injunction to force its demolition before finally receiving planning approval for 3 years in September 2008.
Italy
Trulli (singular: trullo) are houses with a conical roof, and sometimes a circular wall, found in parts of the southern Italian region of
ApuliaApulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
.
Galicia
A
pallozaA palloza also known as pallouza or pallaza) is a traditional construction of the Serra dos Ancares.-Structure:A circular or oval, of ten to twenty meters in diameter. With stone walls and covered by a conical roof, composed of stalks of rye....
is a traditional thatched house as found in the
Serra dos AncaresThe Serra dos Ancares is a mountain range in north-west Spain, extending in a south-westerly direction from the western end of the Cantabrian Mountains in Asturias....
in Galicia,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. They are circular or oval, and about ten or twenty metres in diameter and are built to withstand severe winter weather at a typical altitude of 1,200 metres.
The main structure is stone, and is divided internally into separate areas for the family and their animals, with separate entrances. The roof is conical, made from rye straw on a wooden frame. There is no chimney, the smoke from the kitchen fire seeps out through the thatch.
As well as living space for humans and animals, a palloza has its own bread oven, workshops for wood, metal and leather work, and a loom. Only the eldest couple of an extended family had their own bedroom, which they shared with the youngest children. The rest of the family slept in the hay loft, in the roof space.
Southern Africa
Round huts can be found in various countries in
Southern AfricaSouthern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
, including
BotswanaBotswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
,
LesothoLesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
(where the hut is also known as a mokhoro),
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and
SwazilandSwaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
. In South Africa they are known by the Afrikaans word
rondavelA rondavel is a westernised version of the African-style hut.The rondavel is usually round or oval in shape and is traditionally made with materials that can be locally found in raw form. Its walls are often constructed from stones. The mortar may consist of sand, soil, or combinations of these,...
.
North America
Modern roundhouses are being built such as the one at
Dancing RabbitDancing Rabbit is an ecovillage near Rutledge, Missouri, USA.Dancing Rabbit is an intentional community in the pioneering stage. The community was formed in 1997 with the purchase of of land in North East Missouri by the Dancing Rabbit Land Trust. Its current population is around 45 people with...
ecovillageEcovillages are intentional communities with the goal of becoming more socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. Some aim for a population of 50–150 individuals. Larger ecovillages of up to 2,000 individuals exist as networks of smaller subcommunities to create an ecovillage model that...
near Rutledge, Missouri, built out of cob.
Raun Haus, Papua New Guinea
Roundhouses are still in use in
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
and are very similar to the ones built in western Europe before Roman occupation.
External links