Viking's longhouses

Vikings used to live in so called longhouses. This is a special way of building a house during their times. It is a very simple architecture but effective.

ground floor:

Longhouses were approximately 13-18 meters long and 3,5-7 meters wide. The longest one found was about 50-60 meters long.
People and animals lived together; there was no separation within the house.
a... entrance and working place
b... living room with a fireplace in the middle
c... stable for animals

The roof was made of stones, grass, and moss. Pillars were put up parallel to each side to keep the roof up (3). They were not centred in the middle; therefore, the middle part (2) was wider than the outside parts (1) which were narrow.  Right above the fireplace there was a hole in the roof to lead the smoke out of the house.


front view:

To each wall was put an additional one to keep the warmth inside the house - because the walls were pretty thin -, and to keep the whole building stabel.

The  Viking museum in Borg, Lofoten is built after an original longhouse on nearly the same place. The original house was discovered in 1983 and up until 1989 there had been a big research programme. This very house was 83 meters long and 9 meters high.


(c) http://openarchaeology.info/institutional-members/lofotr-viking-museum-no