{{No footnotes, date=April 2022 Naveta Tudons

A naveta is a form of

megalithic A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

chamber tomb A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could ...

unique to the Balearic island of

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...

. They date to the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. They have two vertical and two corbelled walls giving them the form of an upturned boat, from which the navetas take their name. The largest example is the

Naveta d'Es Tudons The Naveta d'Es Tudons, or Naveta of Es Tudons (in Menorquí, ''naveta'', or ''naueta'', a diminutive form of ''nau'', means ''nave'', and ''Es Tudons'', lit. ''the woodpigeons'', is the name of the place), is the most remarkable megalithic cham ...

which is around 4m high, 14m long and 6.4m wide. The first author who wrote about these structures was

Juan Ramis Juan Ramis y Ramis (27 April 1746 – 12 February 1819) was a lawyer, writer and historian from Menorca, Balearic Islands. Biography Ramis y Ramis was born and died in Mahón. He was the son of Bartolomé Ramis y Serra and Caternia Ramis y ...

in his book ''

Celtic antiquities on the island of Menorca 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 ...

'', which was edited in 1818, it being the first book in the Spanish language entirely devoted to

prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

External links

*José Simón Gornés Hachero
Continuidad y cambio en las prácticas funerarias del bronce final y primera edad del hierro en Menorca
e-Spania, 2017
Guide to Menorca: Prehistory
Burial monuments and structures Megalithic monuments in Spain Archaeological sites in Spain Bronze Age Spain Prehistory of the Balearic Islands