Sunken Floor Houses of the Funnel Beaker Culture

A Methodological Problem

Abstract

Our knowledge of Funnel Beaker culture dwellings has improved considerably over the past few decades, but the number of documented dwellings is still small compared to the number of sites where remains of other types of settlements have been found. It is a well-known fact that lesser cultural layers may prove to be sunken floor dwellings. This article focuses on those larger cultural layers that are often discovered during archaeological excavations, which include features that suggest some form of dwelling. However, it is not always certain that excavations made in conjunction with development schemes can be investigated to an extent that allows archaeologists to document, with any degree of certainty, what these features in fact are representative of I will here present and discuss several examples from the area around the ciry of Malmö in southern Sweden and explore some of the problems associated with the investigation and interpretation of this rype of archaeological feature.