The chieftain’s house is based on the excavations of the house as it was in its final stages. Ground level, the location of the pillars which hold up the roof, the fireplace and walls are positioned in the way they were found. The appearance of everything above ground level has been interpreted in relation to written sources and comparative material from other sites.

The house is 9 metres tall. The height and roof angle are a result of research done on equivalent longhouses all over Nordic countries. Preserved Norwegian buildings dating back to the Middle Ages, such as stave churches, were also taken into account when determining how the building should be reconstructed. The replica has been positioned parallel to the original site where the excavations took place. Today, you can see the original site reconstructed with turf walls and with square pillars marking the location where the sockets for the original pillars were found.