ABSTRACT
The pit houses with soil-covered roofs in Goshono in the northern Japanese prefecture of Iwate were first excavated in 1998 and restored. Research was carried out into adapting the problem of pit houses with soil-covered roofs to a humid continental climate. The indoor environment of pit houses with soil-covered roofs has very high humidity (90%). Moreover, given the heavy rain and snow the wooden timbers and trusses decay easily and are short lived. Given the annual mean snow depth of approximately 500 mm, snow has to be cleared from the roof several times each winter. In conclusion, it is necessary to use birch bark for roofing and drain below the frost line.
