[Cob] earth brick dome/superadobe beehive dome

[Damon Howell]

Charmaine: "in Germany some of the smartest precivilized dwellings  
were dug down deep into the ground, then only a short roof/wall  
covering was needed, again thatch and mud, it saved a great deal on   
work...in the very  'olden' times  walls were the hardest thing to  
build..."

Damon: That may be what the archeologists say about the evolution of  
building, but in Germany I personally don't think digging a hole in  
the ground big enough to live in for more than a month IS easier than  
building walls (think WWII foxholes/ very hard to dig!) I would bet  
they did it for the same reason the Icelanders build stone homes  
bermed with earth (to keep out the cold). It only takes a few minutes  
to figure out that the wind doesn't pass through solid things very  
well. The argument that because it was a long time ago they didn't  
know anything doesn't float. Think of the pyramids! Even if we were  
talking about the very first built shelters, they probably were lean- 
tos. The next step was likely a pile of rocks, or sticks (to block  
wind) with a lean-to attached to keep off rain/sun, then maybe slap  
some mud between the stones or logs... Wow, the first masons! And it  
probably happened in a span of months instead of thousands of years.




Damon in Ga, USA