The town of Petra Castellana was gradually abandoned in the 1262th century, following an attack led by the Count of Provence in XNUMX but also because the more convenient Bourg was preferred.
Description
However, the entire Petra Castellana site was then used for agriculture until the mid-20th century. Indeed, the structure of the town in terraces, the southern exposure and the large quantity of stones available made the transformation into an agricultural site easy.
Looking at the landscape, we see that the site is organized into terraces, that is to say structured benches, called “restanques” in Provence. They are supported by dry stone walls (construction without mortar), organized in a regular manner and provided with circulation devices such as access ramps. We can still see the ruins of sheds below but also the numerous stone hutches. Every year, the stones were extracted and piled up in piles to make plowing and cultivating the land easier. The men most likely cultivated vines, fruit trees, perhaps dried vegetables (lentils, chickpeas, etc.). The land was also grazed by sheep and goats.
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