It is important to remember that archaeologists have very little to go on, when reconstructing standing prehistoric buildings. However, throughout the British Bronze and Iron Ages (2100 BC to AD 43), one type of building often pops up in excavations or in aerial reconnaisance as crop marks - the late prehistoric British roundhouse. All the diggers find usually are a circle of post holes (represented as stains in the soil), a surrounding rain drip gully, and domestic finds such as clay loomweights. The reconstructed roundhouses at Flag Fen echo a contemporary example found close to the site at Fengate - the higher land that lead down to Flagfen via a series of droves.
Roundhouses were simple to lay out (draw a circle by tying a thread to a central post), but very strong and weather resistant. The walls were made of wattle and daub - using wattled wood, with a cement made from mud and dung. Here in Eastern England, a typical late prehistoric farmstead consisted of one to three roundhouses, with associated out buildings, and no obvious defensive system. They were the homes of small but extended families - grandparents maybe, first cousins, sisters and brothers.
The reconstructions chosen for Flag Fen, use turf covered roofs - echoing folk tales that recant sheep grazing on roof tops.
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