Round Houses

1. To build a round house you will need:
   • A centre post made of Oak
   • 26 Oak rafters
   • 24 Oak stakes
   • 3200 Hazel rods for wattle
   • 2000 bundles of reeds for thatch
   • 600 metres of rope
   • 20000metres of twine
   • 15 tonnes of clay and dung for the walls
2. The Iron Age lasted in Britain for about 800 years (from c.750 BC to AD 43) Round houses are mostly connected to this time period
3. There is no chimney - smoke will pass through the thatching
4. There is rarely any organic material (wood,leather,rope,reeds,plants) surviving as it all rots away
5. Post holes, ditches, hearths and any stone are what remain for us to see today
6. Where the walls were made of stone usually only the foundations survive
7. Castell Henllys in Pembrokeshire is a village re built on a genuine archaeological site.
8. Re building round houses is part of what is called experimental archaeology
9. Most daily tasks were carried out on the large floor space in the house where everyone lived
10. Most houses are found together, a settlement within an enclosure, and can sometimes be on a hillfort

www.castellhenllys.com/

www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/ironage_intro_01.shtml

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