Iron Age roundhouse
These pictures show a possible reconstruction of a typical Iron Age roundhouse, based on an average floor-plan as excavated. The idea of a second storey is not mine, but here I show how a comparatively small plan could allow for such a mezzanine.
House plan
As with virtually all excavated houses, the door, with its porch,
faces south east, traditionally to greet the rising sun. The house is
about eight or nine metres in diameter, typical for a house of this period. It
is built with a timber frame, based on two concentric circles of upright posts.
Six central posts support the centre of the roof, and an outer ring of posts
forms the wall, supporting the edge of the roof. The space inside is divided by
curtains. The visitor, upon entering, would see the central hearth, made of
clay, with iron fire dogs and supports for spits, and a small clay oven on one
side. Above the hearth hangs an iron cauldron on a long chain, suspended from
beams near the apex of the roof. When the cauldron is not being used for
cooking, the chain is tied to one of the inner posts. Around the hearth are
stools and benches. There is also a pile of dry firewood and kindling in a
bucket.
On the east
side of the house is the ‘kitchen’ area, where food is stored and meals are
prepared; there is a table with chopping board, knives, ladles and spoons, and
very importantly a clay pot filled with salt. Here the wife and daughters spend
many hours making butter and cheese, and preparing meat for drying and smoking.
On the floor are two buckets of water, brought form the nearby spring. There is
a bucket of flour (with a lid), and also a small flour mill tucked away. There
are also other pots and baskets containing nuts, vegetables, fruit and cheese.
Some of these are hung from overhead beams, along with smoked sausages and
meat, so that they cannot be gnawed by mice. On the south side, which gets most
sun, is a craft area, with a large loom 
leaning
against the wall. There is a table too, with sewing and carving gear, and a
bucket with weaving tools. Baskets of home-spun wool hang from beams.
Importantly, there is a small window, covered with thin skin stretched over a
frame, to provide light when the wife and daughters are weaving in the daytime.
On the north-west side are the sleeping quarters, divided into three spaces by curtains. The wooden beds are raised off the ground to keep warm and dry. There are woollen blankets and furs to sleep under. Each bed space has a wooden chest, and there are hook on the walls for clothing. The man and wife have the central space opposite the door, as befits the heads of the house. Above the bed-spaces there is a second floor of sorts, resting on cross-beams; here there are more beds, for the older sons. This narrow floor also gives access to the smoking frame at the top of the roof, just underneath the smoke-vents; using a long stick with a hook on the end, sides of beef and bacon, sausages and cheeses can be hung up to cure using the smoke from the hearth below.
The house is plastered and painted inside and out, and makes an attractive and comfortable home, especially with a crackling fire.
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