A handbook for new diggers?

[Jack]

Windows are an interesting point. I have often wondered about whether some (or all) or the occasional roundhouse had windows.

But without a time machine its very difficult to be sure.

But.........and its a big but..........living in a reconstructed roundhouse for a weekend really opened my eyes to some of the practicalities.

1) as long as you know what your doing with wood and fire-lighting there is no need to ventilate the smoke.
2) At night with a good fire its really really toasty warm and light inside.
3) During the day, with a large doorway pointing towards the sunniest bit of the sky (SE) there is plenty of light (except at the back (opposite the door).
4) In heavy rain you really really really don't want any holes in the roof............one of the other roundhouses had a leaky roof making it damp, dank, soggy underfoot and not a nice place to live.
5) Drip gullies aren't always necessary...........it depends on the ground surface topography.

So as for windows...............I'd would (on the available evidence).............lean towards no windows.

But, that's not to say that there wasn't any. But functionally there is no need.

I wonder about the practical problems of adding a window to that kind of structure.............and the structural integrity problems.

Need to get some woodsman to try and build one....

Actually I know a few woodsman...............and we did build a big rectangular lean-to structure based on just three big postholes in a row once. Its still perfectly live-in-able after 6 years. And archaeologically, even with minimal ground truncation you'd only see three big postholes in a row on a flattened bit of ground at the bottom of a slope.

I wonder if I can convince them to build a roundhouse with windows next!

[P Prentice]

.......During the day, with a large doorway pointing towards the sunniest bit of the sky (SE) there is plenty of light (except at the back (opposite the door).

So as for windows...............I'd would (on the available evidence).............lean towards no windows.

during the day the sun shines from the east to the west so why is the sunniest bit in the SE? surely a SE doorway favours the 'morning' light and if a fire can light the interior all day why then are most doorways eastward facing?

and why would a window create structural problems s if a doorway dosent?

[Jack]

Up here in the north, the south bit is important. Yep east = morning light. Guess for us this was most important as the fire had gone out.
But then..........thinking back............ooo, found the site online.

here


Yep, doorway pointed south-east.

I remember it was a big opening that flooded the place with light for most of the day. Once it started to get dark the fire sufficed.

If i remember my structural engineering, (and using the design used where I stayed)........

The load created by the weight of the roof is transferred down the roof beams to the upright posts of the wall (no internal ring in that house) either directly or via horizontal beams set onto the ring of wall posts.
The load over the door is spread via a lintel to the posts supporting the lintel.

If a widow is built onto the roof its extra weight also needs to be supported. The extra weight/load would be from holding the roof material away from the main slope of the roof. But I guess this could be done via cross braces to the roof beams?

Dunno. Depends of where you want your windows, how they are constructed and what keeps the rain for going in the hole.

[Jack]

.............,snip> and if a fire can light the interior all day why then are most doorways eastward facing?

.........................<snip>

tut tut :face-stir:

The majority of 'doorways of 690 circular structures from 253 sites in north and central Britain' are NE to SE facing (Pope 2007, fig. 4). Yes the biggest spike is E, but more doorways don't actually point east than do.

But I presume 'eastwards' covers that.

Interestingly taking the direction of facing in four quarters (NE, SE, SW, NW) and ranking them in order of most to least its: SE, NE, SW then NW last.
If you take the data as two halves (E, W) its: E then W
If you take the data as two halves (N, S) its S then N

If you take the data as eight quadrants..............ESE wins, SE and SSE next (erm..i think, brain beginning to hurt)

Depends on how you split the data

We didn't have a fire lit all day as that would use loads of wood. It's a lot of effort to go searching for and chop up enough good dry, well seasoned wood for just an evening, let alone a full day. Besides daylight gives much better light than a fire. It was warm enough and light enough so we didn't waste the wood.

There was another roundhouse that had a doorway facing the opposite way, but as this was the leaky one didn't spend much time in it.

Would be interesting to spend time in both and compare the difference.

[P Prentice]

tut tut :face-stir:

The majority of 'doorways of 690 circular structures from 253 sites in north and central Britain' are NE to SE facing (Pope 2007, fig. 4). Yes the biggest spike is E, but more doorways don't actually point east than do.

But I presume 'eastwards' covers that.

Interestingly taking the direction of facing in four quarters (NE, SE, SW, NW) and ranking them in order of most to least its: SE, NE, SW then NW last.
If you take the data as two halves (E, W) its: E then W
If you take the data as two halves (N, S) its S then N

If you take the data as eight quadrants..............ESE wins, SE and SSE next (erm..i think, brain beginning to hurt)

Depends on how you split the data

We didn't have a fire lit all day as that would use loads of wood. It's a lot of effort to go searching for and chop up enough good dry, well seasoned wood for just an evening, let alone a full day. Besides daylight gives much better light than a fire. It was warm enough and light enough so we didn't waste the wood.

There was another roundhouse that had a doorway facing the opposite way, but as this was the leaky one didn't spend much time in it.

Would be interesting to spend time in both and compare the difference.

and you would have top spend a year in it with all your family, slaves, animals etc for you to have even a remotely valid point- or you could look at recent comparative anthropological examples and save yourself the bother as they are at least if not more use than your weekend camping

[CARTOON REALITY]

With all of this talk of windows and doors could I suggest you two get a room?

Hee Hee!

[BAJR]

:0 I find this better than the Voice...

I just can't decide who to vote for though

HAve a gander at this. where regional variation seems to override logical positioning

http://www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/p...Matter.pdf

PDF download
Thomas Crowther - Shedding Light on the Matter: An Exploration into the Regional Orientation Patterns of the Brochs and Duns of Iron Age Scotland
The primary aim of the paper is to present, examine and interpret the full range of the available doorway orientation patterns of the Iron Age broch and dun structures that are scattered throughout the various regions and landscapes of Scotland.

[P Prentice]

:0 I find this better than the Voice...

I just can't decide who to vote for though

HAve a gander at this. where regional variation seems to override logical positioning

http://www.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk/p...Matter.pdf

PDF download
Thomas Crowther - Shedding Light on the Matter: An Exploration into the Regional Orientation Patterns of the Brochs and Duns of Iron Age Scotland
The primary aim of the paper is to present, examine and interpret the full range of the available doorway orientation patterns of the Iron Age broch and dun structures that are scattered throughout the various regions and landscapes of Scotland.

excellent interjection and a valid contribution to my argument

[BAJR]

AS I say... can't decide who to vote for

[BAJR]

[video=youtube;wPWLlVVVDN0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPWLlVVVDN0[/video]

Most interested in the charring and removal of sapwood for the longevity of posts. ( references?)