Technique popular as a method of church building in Scandinavia from at least the 9th century. Although it was undoubtedly of similar importance in Britain, only one Anglo-Saxon stave church has survived at Greensted in Essex. The staves were made from split logs which were either placed upright into the ground, curved side out, or into a wooden sill. The uprights would be anchored to the roof beams and sill by mortice-and-tenon joints; they slotted together vertically by means of tongue and groove. At Greensted the comer posts were given extra strength by the use of whole logs. In many cases the interior surface of the wall would have been plastered to conceal the timber wall.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied