Israelite House Model

This is a model of a typical Israelite House—aka as a Four Room House, or Four Unit House.

It is rectangular in shape with three long parallel units.  The doorway on the left opens into the paved courtyard of the house—typically open to the sky.  On the far side of the paved courtyard is a unit that has a weaving loom and other household items.  On the near side of the paved courtyard, the long room contains many storage vessels.  The long room perpendicular to these three units (on the right side of the image) contains a mat with eating dishes laid out for a meal.

The foundation of the outer walls of the house was typically made of large fieldstones and then mud bricks were stacked on top of these to form the walls that were in turn plastered.  Notice the wood and thatched roof that was covered with plaster.

On the far side of the house, barely visible is a long open courtyard where cooking could take place and where a staircase led up to the roof.

This model is on display at the Hecht Museum on the campus of the University of Haifa.

For archaeological examples of such a house see Here, Here, and Here.