Are there nuraghi in Mallorca and Menorca too? What are the “talaiot” of the Balearic Islands

THE talaiotfrom the Catalan “small tower”, are the prehistoric structures (dating back to 1200-1000 BC) most famous and particular of Majorca and above all Minorcathe two largest islands of the archipelago of Balearic Islandsin the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain. These are structures “cyclopean” (term used to indicate ancient structures built with dry stonesince in ancient times they were believed to have been built by the Cyclopes) in the shape of a tower and with heights of about 5 meters. Who built the talaiotand when? And what are the similarities and differences with the nuraghi from the Sardinia?

How were the talaiot

THE talaiot Balearic Islands are differentiated in two categories: on the plant circular or quadrangular. Both types of structures developed in height, reminiscent of towers, from which they took their name. Like other structures built according to the “cyclopean” technique, common in the ancient Mediterranean, the talaiot were built with dry laid stoneswithout any cement binder. The solidity of the structures was based on the perfect fit of stone blocks and the use of smaller stones as fillers.

Through a door you reached a central chamberwhere archaeologists have often found some central support columns. Others talaiot instead they are simpler, with a central corridor that runs through the building, while others still have some monumental stairways that lead to the top. The state of research on these ancient structures It still doesn’t allow us to understand for what reason i talaiot were built. They were probably buildings multifunctional: while those with a circular plan are found in different contexts, even linked to villages, those with a square plan are found almost exclusively in association with sacred enclosures. But to When the construction of the talaiot?

The Talayotic civilization, who were and when did the ancient inhabitants of the Balearics live?

The oldest traces of human presence on the islands of Majorca and Minorca date back to 3rd millennium BCduring theCopper Age and the early stages of theBronze Age. Starting from the Bronze Age, the human groups present on the islands began to give life to a type of complex society with peculiar cultural expressions, known in archaeology as culture or Talayotic civilization.

The talaiot However, it is not the only architectural expression created by these people. If their construction can be dated to the period of transition between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age (1200-1000 BC), in Mallorca and Menorca there are other monumental structures well preserved more ancient: the ships (navette in Spanish, called this way because of their shape overturned boat). The ships they are structures always built dry, but of elongated shape and used for different purposes: the oldest ones with a function residentialwhile subsequently funeralThe first ones can be dated back to Middle Bronze Age (1600-1300 BC).

Was the Talayotic civilization influenced by the Nuragic one?

The construction of the great megalithic structures of the Balearics (ships And talaiot) partially coincides with the development stages of the nearby Nuragic civilization from the Sardinia. At first glance, the Balearic prehistoric monuments they could remind the Sardinian onesbut there are some substantial differencesboth by nature chronological That architectural.

The ships Balearic, also for their use funerarycould recall the famous Tombs of Giants nuragic. The chronological period in which these two types of structures were built coincides: the Middle Bronze Age. However there are some differences. The giants’ tombs presented a “exedra” in front of the entrance, that is one semicircular space which delimited the area in front of the entrance. This feature is entirely absent in the ships Balearic Islands. There is also a substantial difference in use: while in the Middle Bronze Age the giants’ tombs were used by the ancient Sardinians as collective tombsin the Balearics these were initially dwellings. The funerary use of the ships it is certified starting from the end of the Bronze Age.

The differences between the famous nuraghi and the talaiotThe most important is of character chronological: the construction of the Balearic towers dates back to between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, a period in which in Sardinia finished the construction of the nuraghi. The other difference, even more important, is architectural: unlike the nuraghi, which used the technique of false dome to develop in height and allow the creation of internal spaces spaciousi talaiot were characterized by narrower and simpler spaces.

In a strongly interconnected as the Mediterranean Bronze Age is not uncommon to find architectural influences similar applied in different ways in the most diverse contexts (such as the towers of Corsica and the sesi of Pantelleria). More than in the construction technique, the influence is perhaps to be considered in the search for monumentality and grandeur.