The souterrain of Raitt’s Cave, in Badenoch, Scotland; 100-400 AD. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Digital Reconstruction by Bob Marshall + 2 photographs.

Souterrains (French: Sous Terrain; “underground”) were common features in Celtic homesteads during the late iron age and early medieval period. They are found primarily in northwest France (Brittany & Normandy) and the British Isles (mainly Scotland, Cornwall and Ireland). In Cornwall they are commonly referred to as fogous; from a word meaning ‘cave’. The concept seems to have originated in northwest France around 500 B.C; and to have proliferated through Britain shortly afterward. Irish souterrains tend to yield later radiocarbon dates, so the concept seems to have reached Ireland last.

People would dig trenches under or adjacent to their homes, then wall them up with drystone and roof them with huge slabs. Once the tunnel was built, they’d cover it over with earth rendering it either wholly or partially concealed. The cool souterrains mainly served as larders for the storage and preservation of foods, including meats. They would have been the closest thing to a refrigerator these people would have had.

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