Kühn im Konzept, phantasievoll mit Resourcen: Architektur-archäologische Analyse am Beispiel eisenzeitlicher Rundbauten in Schottland

This paper introduces architectural analysis of construction and design to the archaeological evidence of the Scottish brochs – Iron Age stone roundhouses still preserved up to 13 m high. Despite their unique construction, analysis shows brochs to have been an integral part of the wider British roundhouse tradition, indicating supra-regional similarities. Architectural differences between stone and timber roundhouses, but also between individual brochs, however, suggest underlying long-lived regional traditions. These traditions could be adapted according to individual requirements, such as site-specific masonry patterns. The consumption of material and labour, sophistication in construction and design, and a visible presence within the landscape suggest that locally-based communities were utilising domestic architecture as the medium to convey social and economic potential. The analytical method introduced here can be applied to other building traditions elsewhere – with the potential to yield similarly nuanced archaeological interpretations..