AGRICULTURE
Experimentation in agriculture was one of the first projects that L’Esquerda set out to carry out.
The excavation of a 13th-century structure, identified as a barn thanks to its burnt contents, and the subsequent palaeocarpological analysis, has made it possible to learn about the crop species of the time (wheat -Triticumdicoccum-, oats -Avena sp.-, barley -Hordeum vulgare-, among others), the associated "weeds", and the cultivation systems and techniques (biennial and triennial).

The information obtained has served as the basis for the formulation of the project "Experimental Archaeology: Application to Mediaeval Mediterranean agriculture" (DGICYT Project PB90-0430), financed by the Ministry of Education and Science, and carried out by the L’Esquerda team through the University of Barcelona. The project aims to carry out a study of Mediaeval agriculture - farming systems, soil erosion, etc. -. This is a long-term project (25 years). The data obtained are compared annually and also compared with the annual production of the Butser Ancient Farm, which has different climatic and geological characteristics.

The cultivation area comprises most of the AREA's land and has been subdivided into different small fields according to the different types of experimental crops. Monitoring is carried out weekly by means of growth monitoring sheets. At the same time, the segetal and ruderal vegetation of the whole area is monitored.

Other projects have also been developed:

Construction: granary and silos
The main objective of the project was the construction of structures for storing and storing cereals, in the two ways that have been located at L’Esquerda:

• CONSTRUCTION OF A REAL-SCALE GRANARY, of the same size and shape as the excavated area.
• CONSTRUCTION OF UNDERGROUND SILOS

On the other hand, the project also contemplated other forms of construction localized to the site:
• THE CONSTRUCTION OF PERISHABLE STRUCTURES USING STICK HOLES: fence and haystack.
The aim is to experiment with wood construction, which provides negative evidence.
• CONSTRUCTION OF 2 EARTHWORKS (ditch and embankment): EXPERIMENTS ON EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION.
The project: "Experimental Archaeology. Metallurgical production technologies associated with Mediaeval agriculture" (DGICYT, HUM2004-05280), also funded by the Ministry of Education and Science and carried out by the same team at L’Esquerda through the University of Barcelona, focuses entirely on metalworking, especially iron and bronze, always associated with agriculture, i.e. the production of tools and vessels for working in the fields.

The Carolingian tower of l'Esquerda
The hypothesis is based on the archaeological remains of a tower basis carved in the rock found in the site of l’Esquerda, and some post-hole structures found along the river Ter. All these remains have been associated with the wooden structures built by Carolingian army at the end of 8th Century AD in the boundaries of the southern march of his empire. The result is a 7.5 meters high tower over the river Ter, built with wood on the rock without any metal nails and surrounded by a wooden defensive fence. The project is currently under experimental observation, and it is yet used by scholars and visitors. It is expected to be used soon as a part of the Archaeological Museum of l’Esquerda.

Metallurgy
In L’Esquerda ÀREA, a small forge has been reproduced for forging iron: a medium-sized stone fire, a bellows, and an anvil.
To cast bronze the old-fashioned way, a furnace was built near the forge, supported by a wall. The first experiments made it possible to melt at high temperatures and to pour the metal from the crucible into a stone mould.