Simple stones but complex constructions

This paper applies architectural analysis to prehistoric architecture. Constructions, house plans and technological aspects of buildings can be analysed architecturally to understand the motives behind an architectural design. Analogies and comparisons help outlining architectural developments, which need to be considered in the respective contemporary cultural context. The well-preserved stone roundhouses of the Scottish Iron Age are analysed to test existing assumptions about their development. Comparisons with earlier construction methods and house layouts emphasize regional traditions. A gradual process of experiment and improvement is proposed, influenced by cultural preferences and possibly individual choices. Results add an architectural perspective to archaeological debate. Keywords: Architectural analysisconstruction methodshouse layoutsprehistoric domestic architectureScottish Iron AgeAtlantic roundhouses Acknowledgements I am very grateful to Fraser Hunter and Ian Ralston for their detailed discussion of the argument and their constructive comments on the text. Particular thanks also to Dorothée Sack, Ian Armit and Simon Gilmour for commenting on an earlier draft. For permission to reproduce the illustrations as the basis for my own drawings I am grateful to the individual authors, to Alan Braby, to RCAHMS, to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland for Sharples 1985, Mercer 1996, Ritchie 2005, Stevenson 1985, Childe and Grant 1939 and Barber 1985, and to AOC/STAR for McCullagh and Tipping 1998

Archaeology · Architectural design · Architectural engineering · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Experimental archaeology · Perspective (graphical · Prehistory · Simple (philosophy · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Architecture · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Engineering · History · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Medieval Architecture and Archaeology

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