Life in a longhouse

The houses were divided by a cross passage. To the right, screened off, was the family living space with a central hearth. Beyond that, also screened, lay an inner room for sleeping. To the left of the passage the cattle were tethered to posts driven into the earthen floor in an area known locally as a shippon. A drain lined with stones carried waste out through a hole in the end wall.

The thatched roofs came very close to the ground with few, if any, small windows. The stone walls were probably plastered internally and weatherproofed externally with cob. Smoke from the hearth escaped through the eaves. What furniture there was would have been very simple: benches round the hearth and perhaps a bedstead in the sleeping area.