View source for Atlantic roundhouse

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[[File:Atlantic roundhouse Feranach.JPG|right|thumb|250px|View from inside the remains of the complex Atlantic roundhouse at Feranach, [[Sutherland]]]]
In [[archaeology]], an '''Atlantic roundhouse''' is an [[Iron Age]] stone building found in the northern and western parts of mainland [[Scotland]], the [[Northern Isles]] and the [[Hebrides]].

Circular houses were the predominant architectural style of the British landscape since the second millennium BC ([[Early Bronze Age]]). Although not many of these roundhouses have survived, it has been ascertained that they were based on [[wattle and daub]] walls with [[Thatching|thatched]] [[conical roof]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brochs.The Roundhouse Tradition|url=https://www.odysseyadventures.ca/articles/brochs/brochs_roundhouse.htm|access-date=2020-09-16|website=www.odysseyadventures.ca}}</ref>

In 1970, archaeologist Chris Musson estimated that there were 200 certified roundhouses in Scotland and Britain. A United Kingdom-based archaeology group today estimates that there are over 4000 roundhouses. The oldest documented roundhouse was founded in the [[3rd millennium BC]] in South-West Scotland. The Bronze Age people were known to adapt to the leveled upland landscapes situated in hillsides.<ref>{{Cite web|last=CA|date=2008-08-26|title=Roundhouses|url=https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/roundhouses.htm|access-date=2020-09-17|website=Current Archaeology|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Types of structure==
A form of [[dry-stone]] Iron Age dwelling, they are unique to the region and are subdivided by the archaeologists into two broad types - ''simple'' and ''complex''. According to this theory, they marked a movement away from the earlier, externally unprepossessing types of dwelling, such as those at [[Skara Brae]], towards structures which were more dominating features in the landscape.

An example of a ''simple'' Atlantic roundhouse is at Bu in [[Orkney]], while ''complex'' structures include the [[broch]]s, [[dun (fortification)|dun]]s and [[Wheelhouse (archaeology)|wheelhouses]].

Although constructed out of stone, they are thought to have had a conical wooden roof similar to that of the timber [[Roundhouse (dwelling)|roundhouses]] found elsewhere.

Examples can be found at [[Dun Ringill]] on [[Skye]], [[Dun Carloway]] on [[Isle of Lewis|Lewis]], [[Pierowall]] on [[Westray]] and [[Jarlshof]] in [[Shetland]].

==Modern reconstruction==
[[Dunvegan]] [[Development trust|Community Trust]] plans to re-create an Iron Age roundhouse structure at Orbost on [[Skye]] with the help of [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)|National Lottery]] funding.<ref>[http://www.localpeopleleading.co.uk/showart.php?articleid=6915&typeid=1 "Dunvegan seeks to rebuild a bit of ancient history "] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922071030/http://www.localpeopleleading.co.uk/showart.php?articleid=6915&typeid=1 |date=September 22, 2008 }}. (10 September 2008) Local People Leading. Retrieved 10 September 2008.</ref>

The [[Society of Antiquaries of Scotland]] undertook a project to reexamine the Atlantic roundhouses of the [[Tarbat Ness|Tarbat Peninsula]], [[Easter Ross]] by taking [[Kite aerial photography|kite photographs]] of the sites, surveys, and excavation led by archaeologists. The reconstructions show spherical enclosures famous for the roundhouses with early Iron Age turf and timber roundhouse.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bringing landscapes alive: The Atlantic Roundhouses of the Tarbat Peninsula {{!}} Society of Antiquaries of Scotland|url=https://www.socantscot.org/research-project/bringing-landscapes-alive-the-atlantic-roundhouses-of-the-tarbat-peninsula/|access-date=2020-09-15|language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
'''In Scotland'''
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*[[Broch]]
*[[Crannog]]
* [[Wheelhouse (archaeology)]]
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'''Elsewhere'''
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*[[Nuraghe]]
*[[Talaiot]]
*[[Palloza]]
*[[Rondavel]]
*[[Irish round tower]]
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==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311010815/http://members.lycos.co.uk/hebrides/atlantic_roundhouses.htm Atlantic Roundhouses]

{{Prehistoric Scotland}}
{{Scottish architecture}}

[[Category:Archaeological features]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Scotland]]
[[Category:House types]]
[[Category:Iron Age Scotland]]


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