This paper aims mainly to analyse the relationship between university scholars andheritage conservation by means of two examples: Iron Age house types, which ishistory, and the analysis of planned Iron Age architecture, which has not yet benefitedsufficiently from contract archaeology. I recognise the duty of universityscholars to develop research topics that may be useful to contract archaeology aswell as to heritage conservation and university archaeology. As a topic of research,I suggest a cognitively based understanding of Iron Age house planning and construction.I suggest that an important understanding of cognitive history can berelated to a shift in Iron Age building principles: in the Early Iron Age form followsfunction, but in the Late Iron Age construction principles give form.