In the context of this artwork, explore the Houses of the Architecture.
The history of architecture still provides no definite answer as to which is older: the house (as a habitat) or the temple (as a shrine). In Lepenski Vir, it appears that there was a process of gradual desacralization, meaning that the shrines were converted into houses over time. The houses from the Vir I period are marked with Arabic numerals, while those from the Vir II with Roman numerals. For example, houses 61 and 65, from Vir I were superimposed by houses XXXIV and XXXV, from Vir II.All the settlements follow the shape of the underlying terrain, a horseshoe-shaped area of land. Settlements always face in the direction of the river, which was the obvious focus of life for its inhabitants. The basic layout of the settlement consists of two separate wings and a wide empty central space which served as a village square or meeting place. The settlement is radially divided with numerous pathways leading to the edge of the river. The outer edges of the village are parallel to the surrounding cliffs.
Domestic objects mark the transition from tent structure to house. All the houses share a very distinct shape, built according to a complex geometric pattern. The basis of each of the houses is a circle segment of exactly 60 degrees, constructed in the manner of an equilateral triangle. The tip of the trapezoid base, a shape previously unknown in human settlements, faces into the wind (košava). The shape of the house base is original and not recorded in any other locality. The material used for the floors is the local limestone clay, which, when mixed with animal dung and ash, hardens like concrete. As a result, the floors are in almost  perfect condition. On the edges of the floors there are remnants of the stone reinforcements which served as supports for the upper construction elements, indicating that the houses were covered. The roofing material was some easily degradable material or was similar to the surrounding loess, making it indistinguishable from the loess found during the excavations. The plaster, a reddish muddy clay, is still abundant in the region. In the village of Boljetin there are still several houses plastered with it. The material is called lep, hence the name of the locality, Lepenski Vir, or literally "red clay whirlpool". Even today, brandy-producing cauldrons, called lepenac, are still being used. They are made of wood, but plastered with the red loam, which is also used by the local swallows to harden their nests. As for the structures which covered the houses, their appearance is not known. They may have resembled the modern brandy cauldron − wood covered with red clay − or they have used  wattle instead of proper wood.According to Srejović, the planned design of the settlement, with its functionality and proportionality, shows an almost modern architectural sense. Despite the millennia which separate then from now, the architectural plan of the settlement seems  contemporary and fully recognizable to us today, while architect Bogdan Bogdanović has said that "everything, absolutely everything, to the smallest detail" about the Lepenski Vir, has enormous importance.The houses are completely standardized in design, but vary widely in size. The smallest of the houses have an area of 1.5 m2 (16 sq ft) while the largest one covers 30 m2 (320 sq ft).Pit-houses  appear in the early periods Vir III-a and III-b, which already corresponds to the Starčevo culture, though some can also be found in the oldest period, Proto-Vir. By digging to the level of the frost line, which is in this area no more than 80 cm (31 in) deep, the natural, constant temperature of the ground can be utilized. The walls of the dugout were plastered with mud which was then dried and hardened with fire. The clay was hardened to such an extent that architect Radmilo Petrović managed to remove the complete clay coverings intact, like giant clay bowls out of their mold.Another reason for digging the houses into the ground is the inclination of the terrain on which they were built, which is 11 degrees. In other localities, the conditions were different. At Vlasac, for example, the natural, funnel-shaped gullies were adapted into the houses.
Pit-houses gullies sacral Roman wattle Bogdan Bogdanović architectural košava loess desacralization Boljetin spit loam Pit-house Starčevo culture equilateral triangle