Stone Threshing Floors

On Agios Efstratios, many stone threshing floors survive, either isolated or in groups, such as at Agios Dimitrios Kerata, many in good condition. The main cereals cultivated on the island were wheat and barley. After the harvest, the sheaves were spread on the floor and untied to be evenly dispersed. In the center a wooden post stood, to which animals, usually donkeys or oxen, were tethered; they walked around constantly, breaking the sheaves into straw and releasing the grain. Later, winnowing took place when there was a light breeze: with pitchforks they tossed the mixture high so the wind would carry the straw to the side, leaving the clean grain. The seed was stored in sacks, while the straw served as animal feed in winter. Today, although no longer used, many of the island’s threshing floors remain visible and constitute living traces of its agrarian tradition.