• ARCHAEOLOGY
• WALKING IN MALAGNE
  • Handicraft
  • the art of construction
  • the farm
    • Stock farming
    • The fields
    • Grape culture
    • The gardens
  • The kitchen
• TEACHERS
• CHILDREN

The fields

The Malagne territory is particularly suited for the creating of experimental parcels for arable farming.

On a relatively limited parcel (more or less 10 ha), a wide variety in soils are found that are typical for the Famenne (silt, clay, lime, slate). Thanks to this variety it is possible to do competitive examinations in the field of plant growth in relation with the type of soil and archaeologists can execute pre-historical tests.

At Malagne the visitor can follow the evaluation of ancient cereals to more recent ones that are cultivated abreast: barley, spelt, rye, wheat, oats, corn, millet, etc. In this way the various properties are clearly distinguished and their growth closely observed.

The cultivated cereals, such as spelt and barley, appear to full advantage in a range of eatable products, as for example bread, beer, corns, etc.

In the light of arable farming archaeological experiments were executed on Malagne: to harvest with the help of a sickle or a mowing machine, milling of the grains in an ancient mill, working with a hand plough, beating of the corn (to thresh) with a flail.

The cereals change their places every two years with the greens or, a small layer of compost or dung is added. Nutritious plants and natural dungs, same as were used by the Gallic Romans, are either placed in between the two yearly change of greens and grains or directly put with a certain type of cereal.

The old aspect of cultivated agricultural parcels can be found in the metastatsis of a number of messicole summer blossoming flowers: corn-poppies, cornflowers, chrysants, daisies.

Other plants that could very well show diversity among the local farmers are also studied: thistle, buckwheat, hemp.