Recent work has demonstrated that the Iron Age is not simply a time of roundhouses in various forms. Rectangular structures of four or more posts are often found on cropmark sites, and interpreted as granaries on no strong evidence; one could equally construct a roundhouse from a four-post structure. The nature of these structures remains a topic for future research.
Recent work in East Lothian has suggested that here the development of non-roundhouse buildings was underway in the 2nd-1st century BC at the site of Phantassie. This site also serves as a useful reminder of survey bias, as it was unrecorded prior to invasive fieldwork, and the cellular structures had no earthfast foundations. At Phantassie they survived because they used stone, but similar buildings of turf would leave no trace, and such ‘invisible’ architecture poses a serious challenge . For those who want a more hierarchical Iron Age, the landless peasantry may have lived in exactly such hypothetical turf or timber houses which we would struggle to recognise.