Building a roundhouse
No original roundhouse survives so we need to use various clues to reconstruct what their houses may have
looked like.
We know from excavations on sites such as Irby, Wirral, the size and shape of the foundations. These survive
as postholes in the ground, into which upright posts were set to form the walls. We know from other sites
that stakes of wood were set between the posts and hazel twigs were woven through the posts to make a wattle
wall. The walls were then plastered with clay and straw. The roof was almost certainly covered with straw or
heather, built in a conical shape. There is no smoke-hole as smoke gradually filters through the thatch.
The Museum of Liverpool Life's roundhouse is being constructed using original methods and materials.
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