A talaiot, or talayot (), is a

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 ...

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. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

found on the islands 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 ...

and

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

forming part of 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 ...

or Talaiotic Period. Talaiots date back to the late second millennium and early first millennium BC. There are at least 274 of them, in, near, or related to Talaiotic settlements and the Talaiotic

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 ...

s known as

naveta {{No footnotes, date=April 2022 A naveta is a form of megalithic chamber tomb unique to the Balearic island of Menorca. They date to the early Bronze Age. They have two vertical and two corbelled walls giving them the form of an upturned boat, ...

s. Talaiots pre-date the megalithic structures known as taulas, which are usually found nearby. While some Talaiots are thought to have had a defensive purpose, the use of others is not clearly understood. Some believe them to have served the purpose of lookout or signalling towers, as on Menorca, where they form a network. Talaiots generally take the form of circular or square buildings, and they may have been used as dwellings or meeting places. The talayots on Menorca have been much less prone to weathering than the ones found on Majorca. Despite this, very few grave goods have been found in Menorcan talayots, leading historians to believe that the island had a poorer economy than its larger neighbor. The first author to write 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 published in 1818, and was 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 ...

. There are similar megalithic buildings found in other areas of the Western Mediterranean, though these are not necessarily related to talaiots. Examples include the "

nuraghe The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese Sardinian , Italian ), or also nurhag in English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 B.C. To ...

s" of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, the " torri" of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, and the " sesi" of

Pantelleria Pantelleria (; Sicilian: ''Pantiddirìa'', Maltese: ''Pantellerija'' or ''Qawsra''), the ancient 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 Tunis ...

Sites

Talaiotic sites include: *

Capocorb Vell Capocorb Vell is a talayotic site located about 12 km from Llucmajor on the island of Mallorca. It is one of the most highly excavated talayotic sites in the Balearic islands. Another such site is Ses Païsses. There are a number of talay ...

, 12 km south of

Llucmajor Llucmajor (; es, Lluchmayor) 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'Arena ...

, Majorca: five talaiots and ancient village *

Ses Païsses Ses Païsses is a Bronze Age talayotic settlement on the southeastern outskirts of Artà in northeastern Majorca. It is one of the most important and best-preserved prehistoric sites in the Balearic Islands, although it is largely overgrown with ...

, near

Artà Artà is one of the 53 independent municipalities on the Spanish Balearic island of Majorca. The small town of the same name is the administrative seat of this municipality in the region (''Comarca'') of Llevant. Population In 2008 the munici ...

, Majorca *

Son Oleza The prehistoric site of Son Oleza is a prehistoric "Beaker culture" dolmen and associated settlement site on the Spanish island of Mallorca. It is near to the village of Valldemossa on the island's north-west facing coast. The site is named afte ...

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

, Majorca, discovered in 1999 * Bocchoris, Majorca *Settlement at S'illot, Majorca * Talatí de Dalt, Menorca * Trebalúger, Menorca, dating from around 1500–100 BC: one of the oldest Talaiots on Menorca * Trepucó, Menorca *

Torre d'en Galmés Torre d'en Galmés is a Talayotic site on the island of Menorca, between Alaior and Son Bou, Menorca. The town developed from the start of the Talayotic era ( 1400 BC) and expanded until the end of the Roman occupation, after which it was abandon ...

, Menorca

Archaeology

In 2019 a well-preserved 3,200-year-old

sword was discovered by archaeologists under the leadership of Jaume Deya and Pablo Galera at the Talaiot del Serral de ses Abelles in the

Puigpunyent Puigpunyent () is a municipality in western Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands, Spain. The village is surrounded by high mountains covered in pine and evergreen oak woodland and olive, almond and carob tree groves as well as cultivated fields. ...

municipality of western Majorca. The archaeologists believe that the weapon was made when 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 ...

was in decline. The sword will be on display at the Majorca Museum.

Sources

External links

Megalithic Menorca. Discovering Menorca

Guide to Menorca: Prehistory

Talayots.es - Comprehensive site for prehistoric monuments in Mallorca and Menorca
(in Spanish) Archaeological sites in Spain Megalithic monuments in Spain Bronze Age Spain Prehistory of the Balearic Islands Mallorca Menorca Archaeological cultures in Spain {{Spain-struct-stub

Sites

Archaeology

See also

Sources

External links