Hello Peter,
The post I started on
Raised Earth Foundations has a fair amount of information regarding this topic in certain ways.
I can cover a lot of the different methods
should you have specifics, yet Brian's response really covers the basics in the modern approach to this very old foundational style. I can share some additional "tidbits" like the fact that Frank Lloyd Wright was probably a pivotal architect to bring this system into the mainstream of current architecture in the last century. I can also share that all of the oldest structures in the world, stone, timber and/or earth almost all sit on some form of this style of foundation. I have cross sectional elevation plan drawings of this style from several different cultures, with some of the apex practitioners being the Chinese, Korean and Japanese builders.
I can share more if you ask specifics.
Regards,
j