Building a Celtic Roundhouse

October 24, 2021 1:20 AM

A video-series about two Dutch guys building a Celtic Roundhouse in Ireland. They're trying to keep the use of modern tech to a minimum.
posted by Kosmob0t (4 comments total)

That first, foundation, episode is an interesting exercise it optimization: what is the most efficient way of transporting fist-to-skull-sized stones from the river to the building site? Clearly carrying them one at a time is not it. While carrying too many at once invites a hernia. 25 years ago, we bought an old farm; languishing in one of the sheds was an exact pre-tractor replica [but with milled timber and nails] of the solution Dylan and Jules come to.

And they have let the river do a lot of work in cleaning and grading the stones. Wave-washed Chesil Beach on the South coast of England does this sorting on a grand 30km scale. At the Iron Age hill fort of Maiden Castle 20km inland, archaeologists found caches of even-sized sling-stones clearly mined from this section of the beach.

I'll try to watch all 24 episodes before the Zombies start coming up the valley.
posted by BobTheScientist at 5:22 AM on October 24, 2021 [3 favorites]

Where are they going to get period-appropriate Celtic locomotives to put in it, though?
posted by Naberius at 7:11 AM on October 24, 2021 [6 favorites]

This is incredible. Thank you for the link. I learn more from watching people reconstruct historical techniques than I do from modern how-to guides, simply because they focus on first order approaches.
posted by gwydapllew at 8:14 AM on October 24, 2021 [2 favorites]

I love this. Just put it on today and let it run - the 3 yr old and the 5 yr old are absolutely captivated - especially by the donkey.
And now I'm shopping for donkeys.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 10:32 AM on October 24, 2021 [1 favorite]