Talayotic Menorca, Spain

It is only 4,500 years since humans first settled in Menorca. Megalithic tombs are the most visible legacy of the first inhabitants, although, as farmers, they may have already begun to transform the landscape of the island even before these first constructions were built.

By around 1600 BC, the number of inhabitants on the island had grown considerably and the first cyclopean constructions, built out of large irregular blocks, began to appear. These elongated houses, known as navetas, can be found clustered together in small settlements.

Some navetas were used for funerary purposes. While they are not dissimilar in appearance to the houses, they do look much more monumental. Each one belonged to a different group of people, who would place the remains of their dead inside. They can only be found in Menorca.

Underground caves were also used as collective burial spaces. In some cases, the entrance to the tomb was sealed using a cyclopean wall, leaving only a small opening. Some of these caves are located in steep ravine walls and are difficult to access.

Complex rituals took place inside the burial caves. One ritual involved dying the hair of the dead using a red pigment. A strand of hair was then cut off, placed inside a wooden or leather tube with a decorative lid and left next to the body.

Talayotic society underwent major changes around 500 BC, due to an increase in contact with the Carthaginian culture. 
The Talayots continued to preside over their settlements, but also began to build new structures, such as houses with a central courtyard.

Just like their buildings, the objects which were produced by the Talayotic communities of Menorca are also unique. While the potter’s wheel was already in use in neighbouring regions, the inhabitants of the island continued to produce ceramics manually up until the Roman era.

Taula enclosures, again found only in Menorca, are the religious sites of this period. Their characteristic central T-shaped element was formed using two large stones and, in some cases, reached a height of five metres. Their symbolism is, still today, a subject of discussion.

The taula enclosures are generally located near the talayots, which had been built during the earlier period, probably in an attempt by the islanders to seek a connection with their ancestors. Today, the settlements are integrated into the island's agricultural landscape.

Funerary proceedings during the final periods of the Talayotic culture of Menorca were very peculiar. The Menorcans dug out artificial caves in the rocky walls of ravines and coastal cliffs, creating  necropolises which contained, in some cases, close to 100 collective tombs.

Some burial caves are large in size, with pillars carved into the rock. Despite the multiple social changes that had been endured by the Menorcan communities, burials continued to be collective, just as they had been during the early periods of the island’s prehistory.