souterrain
Sign in to saveAlso known as souterrain (archaeology), earth house, earth houses, Picts' houses, Pict's house, Eirde house
thumb|Souterrain on Canna, Scotland|Canna in the [[Hebrides]] thumb|upright=1.3|Panoramic view of a souterrain contemporary with a ringfort dating to around 700 AD, built within a much earlier barrow cemetery, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland Souterrain (from French ''''), meaning "subterrain", is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age.
~6 min read
Article
12 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Construction and suggested purpose
- Examples
- Brechin
- Rosal
- Castle Bloody
- Newtownbalregan
- Farrandreg
- Other Irish souterrains
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|Souterrain on Canna, Scotland|Canna in the [[Hebrides]] thumb|upright=1.3|Panoramic view of a souterrain contemporary with a ringfort dating to around 700 AD, built within a much earlier barrow cemetery, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland Souterrain (from French ''), meaning "subterrain", is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age.
These structures appear to have been brought northwards from Gaul during the late Iron Age. Regional names include earth houses, fogous and Pictish houses. The term souterrain has been used as a distinct term from fogou'' meaning 'cave'. In Cornwall the regional name of fogou (Cornish for 'cave') is applied to souterrain structures. The design of underground structures has been shown to differ among regions; for example, in western Cornwall the design and function of the fogou appears to correlate with a larder use.