Beehive house

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Village of beehive houses in Harran, Turkey. Harran-beehouses.jpg
Village of beehive houses in Harran, Turkey.

A beehive house is a building made from a circle of stones topped with a domed roof. The name comes from the similarity in shape to a straw beehive.

Contents

Occurrences

The ancient Bantu used this type of house, which was made with mud, poles, and cow dung. Early European settlers in the Karoo region of South Africa built similar structures known as corbelled houses. These white-washed structures [1] are described as coursed rubble on a circular plan, with each successive course smaller and slightly corbelled over the course below so that a conical shape is achieved as each course is completed. [2]

Beehive houses are some of the oldest known structures in Ireland and Scotland, [3] dating from as far back as around 2000 BC.[ citation needed ] Bee houses have also been built in the Italian peninsula, with some still being built as late as the 19th century in Apulia (south-eastern Italy). In Southern Italy, these houses are called trulli while its prehistoric Sardinian versions were referred to as nuraghi . [2]

A town called Harran in Turkey is also the location of houses that mimic the beehive architecture and they are still in existence today. The structures, which are clustered together like a termite colony, were said to have been constructed as windowless cones because it is the only way to achieve a roof without timber. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harran</span> Ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia

Harran is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately 40 kilometres southeast of Urfa and 20 kilometres from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musgum mud hut</span>

Musgum mud huts or Musgum dwelling units are traditional domestic structures built of mud by the ethnic Musgum people in the Maga sub-division, Mayo-Danay division, Far North Province in Cameroon. Referred to in Munjuk as Tolek, the dwellings are built in a variety of shapes, such as tall domed or conical dwellings or huts, some with a reverse-V shape, and others with geometric designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athclare Castle</span> Tower house in County Louth, Ireland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of early and simple domes</span>

Cultures from pre-history to modern times constructed domed dwellings using local materials. Although it is not known when or where the first dome was created, sporadic examples of early domed structures have been discovered. Brick domes from the ancient Near East and corbelled stone domes have been found from the Middle East to Western Europe. These may indicate a common source or multiple independent traditions. A variety of materials have been used, including wood, mudbrick, or fabric. Indigenous peoples around the world produce similar structures today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girna</span>

A girna is a type of traditional corbelled hut found in rural areas in parts of Malta. They bear similarities with a number of dry stone vernacular building types found in other Mediterranean countries, and they are primarily used for storage or as temporary shelters. It is possible that in the past they were also used for human habitation. The design reflects local architectural adaptations to the environment, emphasizing durability and functionality.

References

  1. Pinchuck, Tony; McCrea, Barbara; Reid, Donald; Mthembu-Salter, Greg (2002). South Africa. Rough Guides. p. 338. ISBN   9781858288536.
  2. 1 2 Curl, James; Wilson, Susan (2015). The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 75. ISBN   9780199674985.
  3. "Chamber's Encyclopaedia: Volume I", J. B. Lippincott & Co. (1870), p.806.
  4. Darke, Diana (2011). Eastern Turkey. Guilford, CT: Bradt Travel Guides. p. 229. ISBN   9781841623399.