Project Consultant : Christine Shaw
The paper given here, was published by Dr Peter Reynolds in Prehistoire de l'Agriculture : Nouvelles Approches Experimentales et Ethnographiques. Monographie du CRA No 6 C.N.R.S 1992 with the full title "Crop Yields of the Prehistoric Cereal Types Emmer and Spelt : The Worst Option".
This the most fully documented record of the crop trials on the original research site of Little Butser giving both results and the background thinking and reading. The results are for different aspect fields and for a number of management regimes.
The term "worst option" is to be taken in the context of the several sites under study by the time of publication and reflect the inhospitable nature of the original research site. The yields obtained, despite this disadvantage, caused much surprise in the early years following the Farm being set up in 1972.
Created 2 August 2010 - Updated 2 Aug 2010