Vikinga långhus
Viking Longhouse langhus or langhús
The Viking longhouse, also known as a langhus or langhús, was a traditional type of dwelling used by the Norse people during the Viking Age (circa – AD). These structures were the centre of Viking domestic life and were designed to accommodate both people and livestock. Here are some key aspects of Viking longhouses:
Architecture and Construction
Structure:
Length and Shape: Longhouses were typically rectangular and could range from about 15 to 75 meters (50 to feet) in length, depending on the wealth and status of the owner.
Roof: They had a steeply pitched roof made from thatch, turf, or wooden shingles, which helped shed rain and snow. The roof was supported by wooden posts and beams, often arranged in rows down the length of the house.
Materials:
Wood: The primary construction material was wood, with walls often made of planks or logs. In regions where timber was scarce, walls could be made from turf or wattle and daub (woven sticks covered with mud and clay).
Stone: In some areas, particularly in Iceland, stone was used for the lower parts of the walls or for the entire structure due to the
The Viking Longhouse: A Crowded, Cozy Home
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Vikings lived in a long, narrow building called a viking longhouse. Most had timber frames, with walls of wattle and daub and thatched roofs. Where wood was scarce, as in Iceland, longhouses were made of turf and sod. Two rows of high posts supported the roof and ran down the entire length of the building, which could be up to feet long. The floor of the Viking longhouse was pounded earth.
Viking families lived in the central hall portion of the viking longhouse. Rooms were partially set off; one end of the viking longhouse might be used as a barn to keep cattle and horses in the winter as well as storage for crops and tools. The other end could be set up as a workroom for artisanal crafts or the family’s vertical loom.
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In the central hall, built-in benches supported the walls. They also provided sitting, working and sleeping platforms. A stone hearth was set in the middle corridor. Fires in the hearth were used for lighting, heating and cooking the family’s food. When t
Hearth and home: Exploring the Viking longhouse
The longhouse was as essential to the Viking way of life as the longships were to their seafaring adventures.
While the upptäckt of a magnificent vessel from the first millennium always creates tremendous excitement, researchers finding the outline of a longhouse are greeted with equal enthusiasm by historians and researchers because of the clues it may offer about everyday activities in Viking society.
Historic evidence
A recent example occurred in Gjellestad, Norway, in , ironically three years after a longship had been found at the same location.
Using ground-penetrating radar, experts from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, NIKU, hit upon one of the largest Viking longhouses yet discovered.
Sixty meters long and 15 meters wide, it was surrounded by bevis of kvartet other, smaller buildings and plowed-out begravning mounds.
In other words, this was a sizable community that lived during the Nordic Iron Age.
Over in Sweden, visitors regularly komma into anställda contact with the former walls of another Viking longhouse at Gränby, a former farmstead within easy reach of Stockholm.
Here, you can a