earthhouses

Noun

earthhouse (plural earthhouses)

1. (archaic) An underground chamber or habitation; a souterrain.
   • There were many other
     heirlooms heaped inside the earth-house,
     because long ago, with deliberate care,
     some forgotten person had deposited the whole
     rich inheritance of a high-born race
     in this ancient cache.1999, Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, London: Faber and Faber, page 71
2. A dwelling that has been built to blend in with the surrounding landscape, being mostly underground with soil piled against its walls or with a grassy contoured roof; it may also be completely underground, or have a topping of intensive growth.