Architecture of the Cucuteni–Trypillian culture

The chalcolithic Cucuteni-Trypillian culture, in Eastern Europe, left behind thousands of settlement ruins, circa 6000 to 3500 BC, containing a wealth of archaeological artifacts attesting to their cultural and technological characteristics.

The houses of the Cucuteni-Trypillian settlements were constructed in several general ways:

Some Cucuteni-Trypillian homes were two-storeys tall, and evidence shows that the members of this culture sometimes decorated the outsides of their homes with many of the same complex red-ochre swirling designs that are to be found on their pottery. Most houses had thatched roofs and wooden floors covered with clay. Archaeologists have identified two types of house framing found at Cucuteni-Trypillian sites. One type, somewhat resembling the post and beam style, used evenly distributed fork-shaped log pillars that were partially sunk vertically into the ground so that the fork was located at the top and supported the roof beams above. The other type of framing used vertical beams measuring 15–20 cmin diameter (5.9–7.9 in), or greater, which rested on horizontal ground-sill foundational timbers that were in turn fixed in place on top of the soil.

Most of the walls were built in the wattle-and-daub style. The construction of these houses first started by erecting the framework of larger timbers in place (photo 1), which would take the weight of the structure, and then the space between these timbers would be filled in with a "wattle" made of pliable smaller branches and vines woven together to form a thin twiggy latticed net which was then affixed to the sturdy timbers (photo 2). Onto this wattle framework the "daub" would be applied made of mostly dampened clay soil although sometimes mixed with small bits of straw and/or animal dung to help keep its structural integrity (photo 3). The daub had to be applied with some force against the wattle in order for it to partially push through the twiggy framework, to which it would stick. Sometimes there would only be a single layer of wattle, and at other times two wattle layers would be used; one for the interior and another for the exterior of the wall. Daub was applied on both sides of the wall, inside and out (photo 4), creating a finished wall that was usually about 5 cm (2 in) thick. Once applied it was smoothed before drying to create an air- and water-tight barrier against the elements (photo 5). After the daub was fully dried, it was usually painted with lime to prevent infestations of pests.(note: the photographic examples used in this paragraph were taken from the web page "Recreating a Cucuteni dwelling-house", hosted by The Archaeological Park Cucuteni, see "External Links" at bottom of this article)

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