[Cob] wickiups I was smitten by the name from Rivendale Ranch.

[tms at northcoast.com]

>
> When trying to learn how people came from living in mud huts to cob type
> homes in northern germany. i allways wondered what a mud hut would have
> looken like. Bet the wickiup was very close.
>

There is a wonderful book about house development, one of the sketches in
it shows a long "shoe shaped" trench, about 4' deep, with thin poles and
branches embedded in the ground all around the perimeter, and branching
over, sort of like a sccoped out tent base. the branches were covered with
more shrubbery, and mudded over.thatched roughly. you kneeled to climb in
and a few elevated areas of dirt were "beds" and "couches" covered with
skins. this allowed one to have "walls" without building them by
excavating, and kept temps moderate inside.  and gaps would be plugged
with more shrubs to keep out rain/drafts.

It was an original earth sheltered idea, using the excavated dirt to berm
up against the embedded poles for higher walls. a very clever idea.

the sketch I saw was based on an actual discovery of kindney bean shapes
of these dwellings.

Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com    http://www.papercrete.com
PO Box 375, Cutten CA 95534