Medieval cottage12/2/2023 ![]() ![]() There is evidence that wattle and daub might have been used since the neolithic era and the fact that in medieval times we still find housed built out of it, is a testament to its efficiency as a building material. Wattle and daub may not be a raw material but its modular nature and comparatively easy construction made it an excellent construction material. Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung and straw. ![]() Straw was also a very important component for the creation of wattle and daub Wattle and Daub Sadly, they were also quite flammable, which contributed to their short lifespans. Straw bales provided excellent insulation and they were very easy to come by after reaping at the end of summer and thus made an excellent choice for the serfs of the land. The reason we don’t find these houses in archeological digs is that due to the fact that Straw is a biodegradable material, building constructed with it have quite a short lifespan once they are abandoned. ![]() The roofs of these houses were also built by using straw and other dry vegetation, these roofs were used across many building types and are commonly known as Thatched roofs. In most occasions this structure would have been supported by a lightweight wooden frame. Straw buildings like houses and barns were constructed by packing cuboid (rectangular) straw bales and stacking them on top of each other. The truth is that Straw, by itself or as a major component was used across most houses during the middle ages. Straw might seem like a very lightweight material and we hardly come across it when it comes to archeological digs of medieval settlements. Most of the buildings used several materials for their construction but the finalized structure was defined by the material mostly used. Base Materialsīase materials are the materials used for the bulk of the project. One of the reasons that we are exploring this is in order to prepare for the upcoming article on rules for building construction in terms of sourcing materials and the time-cost of building anything from a peasant’s house to a Cathedral or a mighty castle. In this article we will discuss a bit further the differences between the materials used and the reasons that were used. In addition to that there not many periods of human history that there is such a gap between the rich and the poor, and this difference is clearly demonstrated in the type of buildings that people inhabit or use. Building materials, from straw to glass are combined to bring to life anything from a lowly cottage to the cathedrals reaching for the skies up above.Īs we’ve mentioned on our previous article on medieval buildings types, different types of buildings had different requirements (longevity, defensive capabilities) as well as cost (in materials and/or time). ![]()
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