The threshing-floor (airol)

Marker 15Having been levelled, the threshing floor was covered with large schist flagstones so that the sheaves of rye could be beaten and the grain extracted. This was done using a flail or by making donkeys or mules walk on the sheaves. On the valley-side, a raised edge prevented the grain from being blown away. The threshing floor, an open space in a relatively closed environment, is today frequented by the local fauna, especially birds (cirl buntings and redstarts), and reptiles. It is not rare to see a Montpellier snake, sometimes being espied from above by a snake eagle (circaetus).