Ses Païsses
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Ses Païsses is a
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
talayotic settlement on the southeastern outskirts of
Artà Artà () is one of the 53 independent municipalities on the Spain, Spanish Balearic Islands, Balearic island of Majorca. The small town of the same name is the administrative seat of this municipality in the region (''Comarca'') of Llevant. Pop ...
in northeastern
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
. It is one of the most important and best-preserved prehistoric sites in the
Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...
, although it is largely overgrown with woodland, mainly ''Quercus ilex'' (holm oak).


Definition

The
talaiot 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 are ...
s, or talayots, are
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...
ic structures on the islands of
Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , 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 Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...
and
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
. There are at least 274 of them. Dating from the late second millennium and early first millennium BC (between 1,300–900BC), they are round or square structures built of rough stone, around a central space at the center of which stood a column. This supported a ceiling of stone slabs which also formed the floor of the next story. Their purpose is not clearly understood: religious or tribal ceremonies, storehouses and distribution centres have been suggested. They are not thought to have been used as dwelling places or as defensive buildings. These monuments pre-date the
taula A taula (meaning 'table' in Catalan language, Catalan) is a Stonehenge-esque stone monument found on the Balearic Islands, Balearic island of Menorca. Taulas can be up to 5 metres high and consist of a vertical pillar (a monolith or several sma ...
s, which are usually found nearby. The
Talaiotic Culture The Talaiotic culture or Talaiotic period is the name used to describe the society that existed on the Gymnesian Islands (the easternmost Balearic Islands) during the Iron Age. Its origins date from the end of the second millennium BC, when the i ...
began some 3,000 years ago and ended with the arrival of the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
in the Balearic Islands in 123BC.


Development of the settlement

The Ses Païsses settlement is thought to have begun as a cylindrical talaiot, or "turriform", built during the first millennium BC (c900–800BC) on a hillside with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. Originally it would have stood alone, probably as a territorial marker. The tower is 12m in diameter and still stands 4m tall; there are stairs within the massively thick wall, but the building's central column has not survived. Visitors to the site are not allowed to access this building. A low passageway, roughly 0.75m high, runs right through the building from one side to the other, linking the central chamber to a later room known as "the hypostyle chamber" adjoining it to the northeast. The
hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or und ...
chamber is so-called because of the three short columns at the centre of the room and the remains of seven others built into the walls. It has two parallel walls, one square end and a rounded or "
apsidal In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In Byzant ...
" end. It measures approximately 12m × 8m. Next to the hypostyle chamber, to the south, and also attached to the central talaiot, is another apsidal horseshoe-shaped chamber. It has been dated to the post-Talayotic period (500–123BC). Excavated in 1959 and 1960, it contained several hearths with fragments of bone, talayotic ceramics and charcoal. A burial and iron tools were also found, indicating later use of the site. A series of kidney-shaped chambers clustered around the south side of the original talaiot has been excavated. There are indications of other buildings in an elliptical central area measuring roughly 65m × 55m around the talaiot, and others within the massive outer wall of the settlement, also roughly elliptical, which measures some 140m × 105m. Built sometime between 650–540BC, long after the central talaiot and many of its surrounding buildings, this thick wall of
cyclopean masonry Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...
consists of a base row of huge outer boulders, some weighing around 8 tonnes, with smaller ones (mostly now scattered) above them; it is faced on the inside with rows of smaller rocks. There seem to have been three entrances in this perimeter wall, which is about 350m long. The main gateway through the outer wall is at the southeast and consists of two vertical boulders with a third balanced on them as a
lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...
. It opens into a passageway 4.3m long with stairs to either side. There is another similarly-sized entrance to the northeast, though its lintel has disappeared. The southwest gateway, which gave access to a nearby spring, also has no lintel, and is less obvious.


Other notable sites

Other talayotic sites include: *
Capocorb Vell Capocorb Vell is a talayotic site located about from Llucmajor on the island of Mallorca, in Spain. It is one of the most highly Archaeological excavation, excavated talayotic sites in the Balearic Islands, Balearic islands. A similar site is S ...
, 12 km south of
Llucmajor Llucmajor (; ) is the largest municipality (in terms of surface area) of the Balearic Island of Mallorca. There are sixteen urban settlements in the municipality, including the town of Llucmajor and the coastal areas of s'Arenal, Cala Blava ...
: the most important Talayotic site on Majorca, with five talaiots and ancient villag

* Son Oleza
dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...
, Majorca, discovered in 199

* Talatí de Dalt, Menorc

* Trebaluger, Menorca * Trepucó, Menorc

*
Torre d'en Galmés ''Torre'' (plurals ''torri'' and ''torres'') means ''tower'' in seven Romance languages ( Portuguese, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Italian, Occitan and Corsican) and may refer to: Biology * Muir-Torre syndrome, the inherited cancer syndrome ...
, Menorca Similar but not necessarily related are the "
nuraghi The nuraghe, or nurhag, is the main type of ancient megalithic Building, edifice found in Sardinia, Italy, developed during the History of Sardinia#Nuragic period, Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 BC. Today it has come to be the symbol of ...
" of
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
, the " torre" of
Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
, and the "
sesi The Brazilian Industrial Social Services (, ''SESI'' in Portuguese) is a private Brazilian not-for-profit institution that operates throughout the country. It was set up on July 1, 1946 stating its aim to be "promoting education, social welfa ...
" of
Pantelleria Pantelleria (; ), known in ancient times as Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisian coast. On clear days Tunisia is visible from the ...
.


See also

*
Naveta {{Short description, Megalithic tomb A naveta (also known as funerary naveta or burial naveta) is a form of megalithic chamber tomb unique to the Balearic Islands, Balearic island of Menorca. They were built during the Bronze Age, between the Pre ...
- Cyclopean boat-shaped buildings pre-dating the Talayotic culture * Nuredduna - Legendary Balearic seeress of the talayots around Ses Païsses


Sources

* ''The talayotic settlement at Ses Païsses – The gateway to prehistoric Mallorca'', 2007 (Official guide booklet by Irene Cabrer Gonzalez & Margalida Castells, translated by Judith Glueck)


External links


Pictures at The Megalithic Portal

Official site (in Catalan)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ses Paisses Archaeological sites in the Balearic Islands Prehistoric sites in Spain Megalithic monuments in Spain Bronze Age Spain Former populated places in Spain Prehistory of the Balearic Islands Indigenous ancient cities in Spain