("Celtic Antiquities of the Island of
Menorca") is a book written by the Menorcan scholar
Juan Ramis y Ramis (1746–1819).
Juan Ramis i Ramis
/ref> It was published in Mahón
Mahón (), officially Maó (), and also written as Mahon or Port Mahon in English, is the capital and second largest city of Menorca. The city is located on the eastern coast of the island, which is part of the archipelago and autonomous communi ...
in 1818 and is the first book/treatise wholly dedicated to prehistory in Spain.
Background
was written during the last phase in the life of Juan Ramis y Ramis, who started writing it in 1814 and finished it with his death in 1819. Its main subject is Menorcan history, grouping together all what he covered in all the pieces of work that he published in the time, such as (1815), (1816), (1818) and the posthumous (1819).
During this phase in the life of Ramis, Menorca was under the rule of the Spanish monarchy, after it was under British rule in three different periods and also under French rule once over the 18th century. For this reason, Ramis, who used Catalan as a lingua franca in most of his works, wrote in Spanish this time. His main aim was to make the singular character of Menorca known to the rest of Spain through its history.
The book
The book, which deals with the prehistory of Menorca, was first thought to cover more topics and be divided into three volumes devoted to the civil and political history of the island. Only the first volume was published since the author died a year later.
Ramis’ book is arranged in an introduction and ten chapters, in which the author delves into the knowledge about Menorcan prehistory following the style in vogue in 18th century Europe, considering that the megalithic constructions of Europe were thought to be Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
.
In the different chapters the author makes a typological classification of the monuments (following the nomenclature that has come down to us: talayot
A talaiot, or talayot (), is a Bronze Age megalith found on the islands of Menorca and Majorca forming part of the Talaiotic Culture or Talaiotic Period. Talaiots date back to the late second millennium and early first millennium BC. There a ...
, taula
A taula (meaning 'table' in Catalan) is a Stonehenge-esque stone monument found on the Balearic island of Menorca. Taulas can be up to 5 metres high and consist of a vertical pillar (a monolith or several smaller stones on top of each other) wi ...
enclosure, naveta...) and offers some interpretations that are not accepted any longer–due to better knowledge about the Talayotic culture, thanks to the archaeological excavation
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
s carried out in many sites during the 20th century. For instance, he believes the Celts built most of the monuments and that the vast majority of the (Talayotic) buildings had a religious function.
Ramis based his writings on the antiquarian tradition in such a way that he tries to explain the archaeological remains through written records. However, he overcame this limitation since he also used different types of archaeological objects and structures to obtain information from the past. He expressed his hypothesis about the irregular distribution of prehistoric settlements on the island, correctly pointing to the environmental conditions defined by types of soil. It is also important to remark the thorough list of prehistoric sites included in the book. Of the 350 talayots which are currently recorded, he mentions 195. Thus, this Menorcan erudite was not only a desk-based researcher.
Despite the Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
spirit that can be felt throughout his work, we still find approaches which are typical from previous periods, making reference, for instance, to the biblical roots of the first settlers as well as to writings from several authors who considered that the origins of the Iberians and the Celts were found in Tubal and Tarsis. It was not until the end of the 19th century, when Émile Cartailhac published his book (Primitive monuments of the Balearic Islands), when a proper scientific study started to develop towards the prehistoric monuments of Menorca. Unlike Ramis’ book, published in 1818, Cartailhac's was published in 1892, nearly 30 years after archaeology started to be internationally regarded as a proper scientific discipline.
Ramis was the first author who talked about the naveta d'Es Tudons, although his ignorance towards its nature led him to think it was a temple dedicated to goddess Isis. The archaeological excavation conducted by Maria Lluïsa Serra Belabre and LluÃs Pericot in the second half of the 20th century shed light on its true function, being a collective tomb.
A modern approach in his work is his defense of the historical heritage. This attitude is perfectly expressed in his indignation towards the partial destruction of some grinding stones located in a prehistoric site, which happened some years before his book was published.
Book structure
Prologue
Introduction
Chapter. I Which families or peoples preceded others in populating Menorca?
Chapter. II That the Celts from France, from the British Isles and from other places in Europe built several buildings similar to those in Menorca
Chapter. III When they started to build talayots on the island: tools and means that were used to do this and what these constructions were destined to be
Chapter. IV About circles and pilasters that can be seen near the talayots
Chapter. V About the large and small taulas or altars
Chapter. VI About the or grinding stones that are found near the talayots and circles in Menorca and about the two mill wheels that can be seen at the top of the Torelló talayot
Chapter. VII About the artificial caves that can be seen around the talayots in Menorca
Chapter. VIII About the ship-shaped building in Es Tudons, in Ciutadella judicial district
Chapter. IX Several features of the druids
Chapter. X Conjectures about the two ancient monuments recently found on the island
Watchtowers on the island of Menorca, locally known as talayots
See also
* Talaiotic culture
* Juan Ramis
References
Bibliography
*BAGUR, J.; SALORD, J.; & VILLEYRA, A. 1998. Joan Ramis, un il·lustrat de la Menorca disputada. Mahón: IES Joan Ramis i Ramis. ConsejerÃa de Educación, Cultura y Deportes.
*PONS, B. (ed.). 2018. Antigüedades célticas de la isla de Menorca, by Joan Ramis i Ramis (1818). Menorca: Institut Menorquà d'Estudis, Consell Insular de Menorca.
*SALORD, J. 2011. La il·lustració a Menorca. Palma. Documenta.
External links
*
* {{cite web, url=http://fondosdigitales.us.es/fondos/libros/4093/14/antiguedades-celticas-de-la-isla-de-menorca-desde-los-tiempos-mas-remotos-hasta-el-s-iv-de-la-era-cristiana/, title=Antiguedades celticas de la Isla de Menorca desde los tiempos mas remotos hasta el s. IV de la era cristiana, publisher=Fondo Antiguo, access-date=2018-11-08, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109014504/http://fondosdigitales.us.es/fondos/libros/4093/14/antiguedades-celticas-de-la-isla-de-menorca-desde-los-tiempos-mas-remotos-hasta-el-s-iv-de-la-era-cristiana/, archive-date=2018-11-09, url-status=dead
1818 non-fiction books
Menorca
Prehistory of the Balearic Islands
Bronze Age Spain
Iron Age Spain