A burdei or bordei (Romanian: bordei, Ukrainian: бурдей)[1] is a type of pit-house or half-dugout shelter, somewhat between a sod house and a log cabin. This style is native to the Carpathian Mountains and forest steppes of Eastern Europe.
In Romania, it is a traditional "rustic" house made of clay and built below the earth's surface. Variations on how deep underground the burdei is built depends between houses. The underground style of construction and the use of clay materials ensures heating with minimal resources during harsh winters. The burdei style is still utilised to this day, usually among shepard communities in the mountainsides.
The etymology of the word is Romanian, and can be found in Albanian as well, due to a shared Thracian origin. "Borde" in Albanian means 'hole'.
(Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper March 20, 1875)
- ^ "бурдей" in Etymolohichnyĭ Slovnyk Ukraïns′koï Movy (Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language), O.S. Mel′nychuk, Vol. 1, 1982.