Roundhouses

Abstract

AbstractUnderstanding the life-cycle of roundhouses is important for understanding what it is that we are excavating, since we cannot simply assume that surviving evidence was representative of use. What are the defining criteria of roundhouses, and how different are they from rectangular houses? Were there common factors of social use, and have these been neglected in our preoccupation with architectural plans? How did roundhouses change over time, and why, and how did they function within diverse larger settlement units? How far has interpretation been determined by theoretical approaches and methodology? Was there an ‘Atlantic’ roundhouse society in north-western Europe?