Amazing Viking Turf House Tour – Stunning Green Building!


In this video we’re excited to share the re-created 1000-year-old Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada. We visited the site last fall and had we really enjoyed learning more about the settlement, but also about the traditional construction techniques they used for the turf dwellings and workshops.

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Burdei Homes

Burdei sod homes as built in Ukraine, Canada, Kansas and elsewhere utilize local natural materials.
Burdei sod homes as built in Ukraine, Canada, Kansas and elsewhere utilize local natural materials.

“The first order of business for any pioneer family was to make sure that they had shelter. In the Ukraine, some of the very first houses were simple huts that were made from sod and logs. The name for this structure was “burdei.”

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Soddys

Grass on the roof, sod walls. Authentically-built sod house replica by Sod House.org. Tours are available.
Grass on the roof, sod walls. Authentically-built sod house replica by Sod House.org. Tours are available.

“The sod house or “soddy” was a successor to the log cabin during frontier settlement of Canada and the United States. The prairie lacked standard building materials such as wood or stone; however, sod from thickly-rooted prairie grass was abundant. Prairie grass had a much thicker, tougher root structure than modern landscaping grass.

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