Pit House

A pit house is a dwelling whose floor is dug into the ground, so that much of the wall height is provided by the earth itself and the roof begins at or close to ground level. Archaeologists also call it a sunken-featured building, or a Grubenhaus or grubhouse after the German term. Pit houses are among the most widespread house types in history because they save building material, keep a steady temperature and resist wind.

How the roof works

The pit gives a ready-made lower wall. Above it, posts set in the floor or around the edge carry a frame of beams and rafters, which is covered with whatever was locally available: thatch, bark, brush, hides, turf or a thick layer of earth. Common details include:

• a central smoke hole, which in some designs doubled as the entrance by ladder;
• eaves brought down to the edge of the pit, giving a low, bunker-like profile;
• two to six main posts, sometimes none, depending on span.

Usually only the hollow and the post holes survive, so the roof form must be inferred.

Around the world

• Ukraine: shelters at Mezhyrich, with a mammoth-bone base about 3.7-4.3 m (12-14 ft) across and probably hide covers, are among the oldest proposed examples.
• Japan: tateana dwellings have been found from Palaeolithic sites in Hokkaido and Kyushu through the Jomon period. Burned examples at the Goshono site suggest some had earth-covered roofs rather than thatch.
• Korea: umjip pit dwellings were used from the Neolithic until the Three Kingdoms period.
• China: Neolithic pit houses are known along the Yellow River, including Banpo of the Yangshao culture, where floors lay about 1 m (3 ft) below ground. Dugout dwellings (diyinzi or diwozi) were still built in the north into the 20th century, for example at the Daqing and Karamay oil fields.
• North America: on the inland Plateau of the Pacific Northwest, people wintered in round pit houses near rivers such as the Columbia and Fraser, with frames covered by thatch and earth and diameters from a few metres to over 20 m (66 ft). In the Southwest, pit houses are associated with the Ancestral Pueblo, Hohokam, Mogollon and Fremont cultures. The Plains earth lodge is a related, larger form.
• Europe: sunken-featured buildings were common in northern Europe between the 5th and 12th centuries CE. Examples at West Stow, England, measure about 3.7-4.4 m (12-14.5 ft) by 2.7-3.5 m (9-11.5 ft) and 0.6-1 m (2-3 ft) deep, with a gabled roof on posts at each end. Whether some had a suspended timber floor over the pit is debated.

Strengths and weaknesses

Earth around and over the dwelling evens out daily and seasonal temperature swings, which suits cold winters and hot summers. The main weaknesses are damp and drainage: a pit collects water, so siting on well-drained ground and keeping the roof edge sound were essential.