Exactly how much light would there be, inside the typical roundhouse? Would it be lit entirely by light from the entrance during daylight, or would a fire be required? Also, does anyone have any ideas as to the temperature? It's actually for a fantasy novel, but these are fairly untechnological elves, so.
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NaNo 2007 - Untitled - complete at 59,837 words!
Now I just have to edit the damn thing.
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avr. 5, 2008 - 13 40
Roundhouses tended to have a central fireplace which was used for cooking every day, and heating when necessary. It is likely that it would have been kept burning permanently, as restarting a fire from scratch could take a while, though that would depend on the availability of firewood obviously. The presence of the central hearth is one of the means of identifying the remains of a roundhouse in an archaelogical dig, I believe.
They also had a hole in the very top of the roof to allow the smoke from the fire to escape.
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avr. 6, 2008 - 02 10
Okay. Thank you!