This was built over the course of a couple of weekends using locally sourced dolerite river stones and hand dug clay. I had to obtain some volcanic gravel (scoria) and firebricks to complete the structure. In addition , straw was incorporated into the clay mix (for tensile strength) whilst fresh cow manure was mixed with clay as a natural water resistant render. Mixing the clay was hard work ; I used bare feet and small hard clay lumps were quite painful. Push the clay/straw/sand mixture around a dome of wet sand was also hard work. My knuckles were red raw for a few days after.

But the effort was worthwhile! It takes around 3-4 hours to bring the oven up to temperature and when the oustide is getting uncomfortably hot to touch, it's pizza time. There is no chimney ; I used a "secret " formula of diameter to height to ensure the air roils around the inside - flowing through the lower half and exiting via the top of the beast's mouth.