During the Iron Age the Roundhouse was ubiquitous, but clearly not a common sight in the twenty first century. In the mid 1980s an Iron Age Roundhouse was constructed at the Ancient Technology Centre (ATC) in Cranborne , Dorset. This was built by Jake Keen and school children and many thousands have visited this building gaining an insight into how Iron Age people lived. The Roundhouse has provided much useful information, but after more than a quarter of a century showed signs of its age. The ash and hazel frame had become rotten with woodworm and was becoming unstable so the building was taken down before collapsing. In October 2011 work commenced on rebuilding the Cranborne Roundhouse using the knowledge gained from the previous structure and the same archaeological evidence used in the original project, keeping the same structure and external appearance. However, the experience gained from teaching and living in the building suggested changes inside. A key member of the team in this reconstruction was Anthony Brown, a teacher at the ATC, who was also instrumental in the construction of the Roundhouses at Colehill, Downlands and Rushcombe during 2012 and 2013 as shown in the following photographs.
The Roundhouses at Colehill, Downlands and Rushcombe have been constructed in school grounds for educational purposes and as structures in their own right. Anthony Brown has acquired knowledge and skills in the construction of these evocative and useful buildings and is able to either build an Iron Age Roundhouse for you or talk on the topic, and can combine the two so that a course in Iron Age Roundhouse construction will result in an Iron Age Roundhouse as the end product. To give an idea of cost, a small Roundhouse can be constructed in the region of £5000, but it is important to remember that materials need to be sourced and prepared so that the result is authentic as possible.
An Iron Age Roundhouse is a good way of preserving and learning about our heritage whilst providing a novel, innovative, interesting and practical building instead of a more mundane modern structure.
Conygar Coppice |
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Iron Age Round House |