Cabanes du Palatin, Archaeological site on Palatine Hill, Rome, Italy
The Cabanes du Palatin are the remains of three oval huts from the 8th century BCE, located on Palatine Hill in Rome. Their outlines are still visible on the ground, with six post holes marking where the wooden supports once stood.
These huts belong to the Iron Age and are among the earliest known traces of settlement on Palatine Hill. Excavations carried out in 1948 brought to light the post holes, drainage channels, and hearth remains that confirmed their presence.
The huts sit close to the Temple of Magna Mater, and their foundations are partly cut into the tufa rock of the hill itself. This shows how the earliest settlers worked with the natural shape of the ground rather than reshaping it.
The huts are part of the broader Palatine archaeological area and can only be reached on foot through the excavation zone. An audio guide or guided tour helps a great deal, as the visible remains are subtle and easy to miss without context.
The shape of the huts is known not only from the foundations but also from Iron Age burial urns made in the form of small house models, complete with pitched roofs and entrance porches. These urns were used to hold ashes and now serve as a record of architectural details that the ground-level remains alone cannot show.
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