Vernacular
The Oxford English Dictionary defines this as 'of one's native country, native, indigenous' (so it can refer to local speech, for example) and, with reference to architecture, 'concerned with ordinary buildings'. In this latter sense, it is used to indicate the normal everyday structures of the majority of people at times when local traditional styles of building and local building materials were the only ones within the reach of most. These vernacular structures should be compared to those of the gentry, which followed fashion and were likely to incorporate foreign, particularly classical, elements.

Vikings
'Vikings', the Norse term for pirates, has come to be used as the general name given to the Northmen (Norsemen) from Scandinavia who raided, plundered and then settled many parts of Britain and Europe in the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries. See also Normans.

Villas
The general name given to the architecturally elaborate country houses of the Roman occupation. Villas vary a great deal, but most have masonry walls, roofs of clay or stone tiles, and concrete floors; some have decorated wall plaster, mosaics composed of small tesserae (small square blocks), and heating systems (hypocausts). The biggest are veritable palaces with great suites of rooms, bathing complexes and extensive gardens.

Vitrified forts
A name given to certain Iron Age hillforts, particularly in Scotland, where the ramparts have been reinforced by firing the timbers within them so that they became welded together into a solid mass.