Sole ard
Friday, 7 December 2007
Mexican field turned over with moldboard plow (rather 16th C in design), probably pulled by an ox.
The Byzantine plow was, technically, not a plow at all, but a sole ard.
Boy, there’s a term you don’t see every day. “Sole ard.” Kinda makes your knees weak, doesn’t it?
FYI, apparently a sole ard scratches the surface rather than turning it over like the plows we see today. The tool is suitable for shallow tilling, as in arid areas, and requires less effort to use than moldboard plows (less force is needed than to overturn the soil).
Bryer, Anthony. 2002. “The Means of Agricultural Production: Muscle and Tools,” in The Economic History of Byzantium: From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century, vol. 1, Studies, vol. 39. Edited by Angeliki E. Laiou, pp. 101–13. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Page 107.