Semi-subterranean structures

thumb|An unfinished basement used for storage and exercise thumb|Chillon Castle (Château de Chillon) basement thumb|A former Stasi basement hallway

thumb|Visigoths|Visigothic crypt of Saint Antoninus [[Palencia Cathedral in Spain]] thumb|A crypt in Wola Gułowska in [[Lublin Province, Poland]] A crypt () is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church, above ground within a cemetery’s mausoleum or a free-standing outdoor memorial tomb. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics and sometimes cremation urns.

Neolithic archaeological site in Scotland

thumb|upright=1.25|Reconstruction of a pit-house in Chotěbuz, Czechia

shelter for humans or domesticated animals and livestock based on a hole or depression dug into the ground

thumb|right|Reconstructed kiva at Bandelier National Monument thumb|right|Interior of a reconstructed kiva at Mesa Verde National Park thumb|right|Ruins of a great kiva at Chaco Culture National Historical Park thumb|right|The Great Kiva at Aztec Ruins National Monument was excavated by Earl Morris in 1921 and reconstructed by him 13 years later. thumb|Interior of Great Kiva at Aztec Ruins National Monument showing the vast size of the structure thumb|right|Ruins of the kiva at Puerco Pueblo, Petrified Forest National Park thumb|alt=A drawing of Chacoan round room features|Chacoan round room f

thumb|right|Cryptoporticus of Nero|Emperor Nero at [[Domus Transitoria, Palatine Hill]] In Ancient Roman architecture a cryptoporticus (from Latin crypta and porticus) is a covered corridor or passageway. The usual English is "cryptoportico". The cryptoportico is a semi-subterranean gallery whose vaulting supports portico structures aboveground and which is lit from openings at the tops of its arches.

thumb|Comparison of a ha-ha (top) and a regular wall (bottom). Both walls prevent access, but one does not block the view looking outward.

Icelandic solution to a shortage of building timber

structure, usually underground or partially underground, used for storage of vegetables, fruits, nuts, or other foods

style of house built in a natural or artificial cave

A yaodong (窰 in native Jin Chinese, or 窰洞 yáodòng in Beijing Mandarin) is a particular form of earth shelter dwelling common in the Loess Plateau in China's north. They are generally carved out of a hillside or excavated horizontally from a central "sunken courtyard".

medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church in Sofia

building surrounded by earth

thumb|right|300px|The evolution of the hogan as of the 1930s. A hogan ( or ; from Navajo '''' ) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. A hogan has walls and roof of timber, with or without internal support posts, and is covered with packed earth and stone in varying amounts. Hogans can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or square; the door traditionally faces east to welcome the rising sun.

prehistoric, Iron Age structure in Scotland

thumb|right|View of the Sacromonte from the Alhambra thumb|right|Location of the neighborhood of Sacromonte in Granada thumb|282px|View of Sacromonte Sacromonte, sometimes also called Sacramonte, is a traditional neighbourhood in the eastern area of the city of Granada in Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the six neighbourhoods that make up the urban district of Albayzín and borders the neighbourhoods of Albayzín, San Pedro, Realejo-San Matías, El Fargue and Haza Grande.

Semi-subterranean building

right|thumb|300px|A barabara (Aleut: ulax̂), the traditional Aleut winter house A barabara or barabora (Russian); ulax̂, ulaagamax, ulaq, or ulas (plural) (Aleut); and ciqlluaq (Alutiiq ~ Sugpiaq) were the traditional, main or communal dwelling used by the Alutiiq people and Aleuts, the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands. They lay partially underground like an earth lodge or pit-house, and most of the house was excavated from the dirt so as to withstand the high forces of wind in the Aleutian chain of islands. Barabaras are no longer used, as present-day Aleuts live in modern houses and

small building constructed over a spring

A burdei or bordei (, ) 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.

shopping mall in Taipei, Taiwan