This is a Chaumiere (cottage) in the Forêt de Brotonne near Rouen in
France. Traditionally the
thatched roof is topped with a bed of
clay where iris are planted. The roots, or rather rhizomes, of
the iris help to mesh together the reed ends in the thatch
and remove excess moisture from the ridge. Normandy chaumiere
often have a flint foundation with half-timbered walls with
torchis (French cob) on laths (wattle) as the infill.
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