Habiter à Broxmouth : une approche biographique des roundhouses de l'âge du Fer

Les roundhouses (« maisons rondes ») constituent l'un des bâtiments caractéristiques dominants de l'âge du Fer en Grande-Bretagne. Les premières recherches sur ces habitats étaient jusqu'ici axées uniquement sur les aspects structurels et économiques, mais leur importance dans la vie sociale, voire la cosmologie de leurs habitants, est de plus en plus reconnue. Cet article montre le potentiel des approches biographiques concernant l'étude des roundhouses de l'âge du Fer de Broxmouth (sud-est de l'Écosse). Ce site servira de cas d'étude pour illustrer le rôle central de ces structures dans la construction identitaire des populations locales.

Roundhouses are the dominant feature of the Iron Age in Britain. Early research focused only on structural and economic aspects, but it is increasingly recognised that roundhouses were also important in the social and cosmological lives of their inhabitants. This article demonstrates the potential of biographical approaches to the study of roundhouses, and uses the Iron Age settlement at Broxmouth (south-east Scotland) to illustrate the centrality of these structures to household identity.

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