But and ben is an architectural style for a simple building, usually applied to a residence. The term is most common in the Scots language, for a two-roomed cottage, but also used by archaeologists to describe a basic design of "outer room" conjoined with "inner room" as a residential building plan. But and ben style construction was not uncommon in the ancient world and was used in the Bronze Age and earlier in locations such as Knossos

Knossos

Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...

 and Magasa

Magasa, Crete

This article is about a Neolithic settlement in Crete; for the town in Italy, see Magasa, Italy.Magasa is a Neolithic settlement on the eastern part of the island of Crete in present day Greece. Magasa is notable as a Neolithic Cretan settlement for some use of large room sizes in its multi-roomed...

 on Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

.

The outer room, used as an antechamber or kitchen, is the but, while the inner room is the ben.

In popular culture

The Broons

The Broons

The Broons is a comic strip in Scots published in the weekly Scottish newspaper, The Sunday Post. It features the Broon family, who live in a tenement flat at 10 Glebe Street, in the fictional Scottish town of Auchentogle or Auchenshoogle . They are also shown as living on Glebe Street...

own a but and ben in the country where they take holidays. In 2008, Waverley Books published a But an' Ben Cookbook.