A German word meaning 'sunken-floored building', used to describe Anglo-Saxon buildings of a roughly rectangular shape. They were constructed by digging the ground level away inside four walls to increase the internal height of the building.

Several Anglo-Saxon sunken-floored huts (Grubenhaus), possibly of 6th-7th century date, were found during gravel digging at Firgrove, Farnham in 1924.

Excavations at Shepperton in 1967 and 1973 revealed a settlement of the 6th to 12th centuries, including a scatter of early Saxon pottery and a sunken featured building of 8th or 9th century date.

Also known as a sunken feature building.

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