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A range of building materials was used. The structural timbers were usually oak, while the more pliable hazel or willow were used for the wattle screens. Wattle means that the branches are woven together. These are then covered with mud which is known as daub. Stone was used mainly for packing postholes or bedding trenches.
Roofs were thatched usually with straw or occasionally with rushes or reeds. It is not known what doors were made of but we can assume that they were possibly timber frames covered with hides.
Many of these houses had the innovative building method of cavity walls. Between the two layers of wall loose stones were added until they were about 30cms high. Above these was added straw, reeds of even sods. These cavity walls would have made the houses warmer. The height of walls was enough for an adult to stand upright at the edges.
Some houses were circular but the majority were rectangular. The Ballynagilly, Co Tyrone house had one room and was 7m x 5.5m while the Ballyglass, Co Mayo house at Ulster History Park had three rooms and measured 13m x 6m. Most only built houses to whatever size they needed in order to accommodate their family, the size of which varied from four to ten individuals.
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