Neolithic Houses

Just outside the Stonehenge visitor centre are five newly constructed Neolithic Houses.  For some time I have been following a blog that showed the houses being constructed and I enjoyed seeing the finished result.

From the English Heritage website:

Five Neolithic Houses furnished with replica Neolithic axes, pottery and other artifacts, reveal the type of homes that the builders of the ancient monument might have lived in four and half thousand years ago.

The dwellings situated just outside the visitor and exhibition centre, are surprisingly bright and airy spaces and consist of a single room measuring 5 metres on each side with white chalk walls and floors designed to reflect sunlight and capture the heat from the fire. When fires are lit, the smoke from the hearth filters up through a thatched roof – knotted or tied straw carefully secured onto a hazel woven frame. Around the walls stands wooden or woven furniture – beds, seating, storage and shelving.

The Neolithic Houses help to re-connect the ancient stones with the people that lived and worked in the Stonehenge landscape. Visitors can step through the door of these houses and get a real sense of what everyday life might have been like when Stonehenge was built.

The re-created houses are closely based on the remains of Neolithic houses discovered during excavations in 2006 and 2007 at Durrington Walls, a large ceremonial earthwork enclosure, just over a mile to the north-east of Stonehenge. Radiocarbon dating showed that these buildings were built at around the same time as the large sarsen stones were being put up at Stonehenge, in approximately 2,500 BC.

Interior

Roof Construction

18 Comments CherryPie on Jun 25th 2014

18 Responses to “Stonehenge – Neolithic Houses”

  1. Oh that’s interesting.

    All new since I was there in the days of the old ramshackle centre.

    Still, I saw the stones as they remain, I expect, which is what really matters.

    • CherryPie says:

      I expect you saw the stones as they had been re-erected after falling into disarray.

      I saw them in that way too. I think I was 13 at the time. I stood under the stones and looked up, it was quite awe inspiring. But I remember being even more impressed by the stones at Avebury…

  2. Steve Hayes says:

    Just do a Google search for “rural transkei rondavels” and you will see hundreds of pictures of houses exactly like those, with people living in them today.

    • CherryPie says:

      Interesting, thank you :-) I lady we met in one of the houses quite liked the appeal of no housework, apart from a sweep out in the morning.

  3. james higham says:

    Immensely liveable, those, too. There are some great old style domestic structures which work.

  4. Most interesting post Cherie, I know I said, I didn’t quite get the Stonehenge interest but after reading about The Neolithic Houses I confess to having a change of mind!
    I wonder how many of those houses caught fire ?
    It must have been a very hard life for the workers who lived in them.
    Thanks again for imparting you knowledge, I’m looking forward to the next instalment!
    love Di.x

    • CherryPie says:

      There is much more to the Stonehenge area than just the stones. The surrounding area is fascinating as is the Avebury area.

  5. Barbara says:

    Interesting. Stonehenge is so different these days since we could take our children and walk among the stones.

  6. Lisl says:

    This is all very interesting, Cherie. I see the “dresser” has similarities with the stone “dressers” in Skara Brae on Orkney

  7. ubermouth says:

    Lovely photos. I could totally live in a series of them. :)

    They were quite advanced, all things considered!

    And look at the sizes of those beds! Reminds me of when I went to Henry Viii’s castle in Portsmouth and seeing the body armour of men that modern 8 year olds would not fit into!