Neolithic longhouses and Bronze Age houses in central Europe

Abstract

The investigation of the cause and guiding principles of the orientation of houses has been a neglected field in archaeological studies. If clear regularity can be observed in the location of houses and constructions, it is assumed to follow the prevailing winds in most cases. The position of a house is influenced by environmental and non-environmental factors. Besides the winds, sunlight, heat, etc., it is argued in anthropology that there is no phase in building traditional houses in which the position is not connected to a rite. Careful investigation of the orientation can reveal some attitude of prehistoric peoples to their natural surroundings that involve not only the terrestrial but also the celestial “landscape” as an inseparable unity.