|
|
|
Rectangles were all
the Rage
|
- The Iron Age Britons
lived in single-roomed round houses with thatched roofs and walls made from
wattle and daub.
- When the Romans
arrived in Britain, they began to build rectangular buildings
instead:
- The walls were usually
built of stone. Sometimes they just had stone bases, with
wattle and daub on top.
- The roofs were usually
covered in clay tiles or stone slates. Sometimes they had
wooden shingles or thatch.
- They might have one
storey or two. They usually had several rooms, each with a
different function, like:
- hall
- dining room, called
a 'triclinium'
- kitchen
- bedrooms
- corridors
- They were usually heated
in Winter by small fires on metal stands called braziers. Rich
Romans might have a central heating system called a hypocaust.
- There were windows, but
they usually only had shutters. Window glass was very expensive
and rare.
- Rich Romans might have
houses with 'classical' Roman architecture, like lots of
columns. They also liked to have pretty gardens outside their
homes.
- Most Romano-Britons in
the South, East and Midlands of Britannia adopted these new
Roman types of house.
- Further to the north and
west and in more rural areas, old-style British houses
remained popular (and cheap).
- After the Roman army
left Britain, building styles
changed again.
|
Click here
for information on Roman Temples in Britain.
|
