Skip to ContentSkip to Navigation
About us

Building with sods

22 May 2013

The University of Groningen Institute for Archaeology and the Yeb Hettinga Museum are building a reconstruction of an ancient Frisian sod house. The building is a combination of farmhouse and barn resembling those constructed around 700 AD in the region where the population lived on mounds known as ‘terpen’. The reconstruction is based on recent archaeological research into sod houses in the provinces of Friesland and Groningen. What makes the experiment special is that the sod walls, which are nearly a metre thick, are the main roof support. Archaeologists had long thought that this was impossible.

The weekly online video magazine Unifocus highlights topics related to the University of Groningen in the fields of research and society, student life, teaching, policy and internationalization.

Last modified:12 March 2020 10.15 p.m.
View this page in: Nederlands

More news

  • 15 April 2024

    ‘The European elections will be as boring as always’

    UG researchers Ritumbra Manuvie, Pieter de Wilde, and Lisa Gaufman look ahead to the elections in India, Europe, and the United States, respectively. This week: Pieter de Wilde. He predicts that the European elections will be as boring as always.

  • 25 March 2024

    Dyslexia: an 'underestimated' disorder

    Liset Rouweler is a researcher at the Dyslexia Center Groningen. According to her, about 1,000 to 1,500 students at the RUG have dyslexia, yet many do not know where to turn. Rouweler and her team are trying to give this group a helping hand.

  • 28 February 2024

    Archaeological research provides further insight into rich eco-cultural history of fallow deer

    Recently, two scientific publications have been released, both providing further insight into the rich eco-cultural history of the fallow deer, the protagonist of the recent debate on deer parks in the Netherlands. Archaeologist Dr. Canan Çakırlar...