Houses of the Living explores the changes that occurred in domestic architecture in England and Wales over the course of the Neolithic until the start of the Middle Bronze Age (c.4000-1500 BC), from the possible longhouses of the Early Neolithic until the emergence of the roundhouse tradition in the Early Bronze Age. While analysis of monumental architecture has dominated studies of the built environment in this period, the study of domestic architecture has remained more limited. This volume redresses the balance by considering the ways in which domestic structures also shaped ways of living in the Neolithic to Early Bronze Age. The book provides a new dataset that quantifies the number of excavated structures dating to this period for the first time in several decades, exploring in depth the ways in which the structures were built, inhabited, and abandoned, and highlighting considerable diversity in the building practices of the period.

AUTHOR

Hannah Bullmore specialises in the domestic architecture and archaeology of prehistoric Britain. She completed her AHRC-funded PhD at the Institute of Archaeology at UCL in 2022, and currently works as a field archaeologist in commercial archaeology.

REVIEW

‘This comprehensive study of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age domestic architecture in England and Wales is essential reading for anyone interested in how people lived in prehistory. It provides an important balance to the usual focus on prehistoric monuments and asks important questions about the relationship between monumental and domestic architecture. A groundbreaking synthesis.’ Prof Michael Parker Pearson, University College London