Summer houses in Antiquity

[SageMother]

I read somewhere that the homes during ancient times had an underground living area for use during the summer, with air piped in and this helped inhabitants stay cool. Are there any tours of these homes?

[Kris]

I have never seen one however as you mentioned before there are homes completely under the ground in the south!

[liz]

there are tours that you can take of the Berber homes in the south, They are underground with a courtyard in the middle and all of the rooms are built into the mountains, many of the guided tours stop to take you into the homes!

[pej]

There are also old Roman ruins like those in Bulla Reggia where you can see that they also used such a system, go there too if you can! very interesting since you can see so much of how the houses were built.

[SageMother]

I think it is a concept that would work in the states here. My husband and I have often discussed ways of building a home that would minimize energy consumption and the subterranean home has been one of our favorite ideas

[pej]

Well it sounds sensible enough! It is a concept that has been used around the world way back before we got as "civilised" as we are today... Whereabout in the U.S. do you live? You might have mentioned, but I forget...

[SageMother]

Originally Posted by pej

Well it sounds sensible enough! It is a concept that has been used around the world way back before we got as "civilised" as we are today... Whereabout in the U.S. do you live? You might have mentioned, but I forget...

I am in Colorado. I don't know if there are any underground homes here, even though there are many experimental models throughout the state. There is a house in the mountains that was in the movie "Sleeper" but it isn't a functional home, at least it wasn't the last time I saw it, and its not underground.

[Grace 111]

I like what you said about underground homes. When I grew up there was a family called the Wedges. Their house was built right underneath a mound of dirt that formed a small hill. It covered the home from the sides and back. It was suppose to be very energy efficient.

[ninikins]

I've never considered the options of living underground but I can certainly see benefits. How does the light come in though?

[Grace 111]

The light came in from the front part of the house. The front of the house was exposed to the sun during normal daylight hours. It had alittle porch underneath it.