Le Montgrillet

Le Montgrillet is the hillock above the village. The population of Meyrannes used to be overwhelmingly farmers, who lived on what they grew. Le Montgrillet is exposed to the sun and close to the village, and was the ideal spot for farming. Evidence for this can be seen all along the path. The grove of olive trees above the path indicates one of the crops once grown in Meyrannes, along with grapes and mulberry trees (for leaves to feed to silkworms). (B. Mathieu)  

The limestone quarry was used to supply the lime-making kiln. Lime was much used in the countryside for improving soil, whitewashing walls and binding stones. In the lime-kiln, layers of coal alternated with limestone. Firing, which took more than 3 days, transformed the rock into lime. The kiln was constructed near the Montagnac river, the water being used to extinguish the quicklime. In use from 1853 on, the kiln has been disused for several years. (B. Mathieu)

This structure was built using dry-stoning techniques (i.e. without binder) and was once used by the farmer to store his harvest, tidy away his tools or take shelter when a storm about to burst did not leave him enough time to return home. The builder chose to make his hut back onto a terrace, so as to economise on one wall and save space. On this sloping land, efficiency is of the essence: the farmer has to make the most of every cultivatable square metre. Terrace walls built from stones serve to create horizontal plots, remove stones from the land and prevent erosion. (B. Mathieu)