As a consequence of an academic study by the University of Groningen on turf-building techniques in the early middle ages, a turf house was (re)constructed in Yeb Hettinga Museum.
The (re)construction of the turf house, remarkable for its features (more than 14 meters long and 4,5 meters tall), was finished in summer 2013.
With the aid of volunteers, the mound below the house was built before stacking the blocks of turf to build the walls. This is a typical feature of farms in the early medieval frisian land (5th to 8th century AD). Research on the features obtained from archaeological data seemed to suggest that turf building that size could provide enough strenght to support the wooden roof, that was felt unprobable by traditional archaeology.
The academic study and the construction process are available to the public. But a direct visit to the house is also possible on the grounds of the Yeb Hettinga Museum.
