Re: Monday answer
Gary Smyth
John came close and I think I knew where he was headed. Had I been able to respond early he might have carried it a bit further. However, Gary gets the gold star for today.
Wattle and/or wattle and daub is what I was looking for. In my mind a weir is used to raise water or control flow such as a millrace. A weir may also be built to serve as a fish trap. A weir may use any of a number of techniques including woven sticks or reeds but also piled dirt, concrete, stone lined channels, netting, water diverters, etc. (picture#2, one example)
Wattle and daub is an ancient construction technique used to make both interior and exterior walls. There are two stages to wattle and daub construction. The first is the creation of wattles, interwoven branches, lathes, or rods which form a tight lattice. (picture#1,4) The wattle can be used to lay the groundwork for walls both inside and outside a home, or to fill in gaps between walls and ceiling timbers. Once the wattle is made, it can be covered in daub, a plaster-like mixture of clays, mud, plant fibers, and animal dung. After the daub sets, many people whitewash the resulting wattle and daub wall to make it more weather resistant and to brighten it.
Archaeological evidence suggests that humans have been using this technique since at least the Neolithic period, and some examples of Neolithic homes would look very familiar to modern humans. This technique is also widely used in the Middle East and parts of Africa, as wattle and daub construction is cheap, reasonably weather resistant, and cooling, as the whitewashed walls can prevent heat penetration in extreme climates, making it ideal for these locations.
Because wattle and daub construction is cheap and easy, it has been associated with poverty in some regions of the world. Many laborers and serfs lived in wattle and daub homes, often constructing them themselves and making repairs as needed. Many of these homes were quite modest, daubed with materials available on the surrounded land and covered in a thatched roof made from straw or other plant materials.
Mostly today wattle (with daub) is associated with Tudor architecture, as this construction technique was commonly used during this period in British history. One of the defining traits of Tudor architecture is that structures typically have half timbered walls and roofs, filled in with whitewashed wattle and daub. As a result, Tudor homes have bold supporting beams which are often stained to be black or dark brown with expanses of white textured wall between them. (picture #3) This effect is often mimicked with sheetrock or plaster in modern homes to create a Tudor feel.
