Son Mercer de Baix
| Son Mercer de Baix Poblat de naviformes de Son Mercer de Baix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Son Mercer de Baix: entrance to the Cova des Moro |
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Location in Menorca |
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| Coordinates | 39 ° 57 '15.9 " N , 4 ° 0' 21.8" E | ||
| place | Ferreries , Menorca , Balearic Islands , Spain | ||
| Emergence | 1400 to 1000 BC Chr. | ||
| height | 45 m | ||
Son Mercer de Baix (full name Poblat de naviformes de Son Mercer de Baix , "Naviform village of Son Mercer de Baix") is the site of a prehistoric settlement in the municipality of Ferreries on the Balearic island of Menorca . The Bronze Age settlement of megalithic buildings with the plan of an elongated horseshoe ( Naviformes ) was between 1400 and 1000 BC. Inhabited. Their best-preserved home, the Cova des Moro ("Moors' Cave"), still has part of its original roof, which is supported by three remaining polylithic columns.
location
The site is on the Son Mercer de Baix estate, which can be reached via a dirt road from the ME-20 between Ferreries and Es Migjorn Gran . The prehistoric settlement lies on the edge of the Barranc de Son Fideu gorge , whose fertile soil can be overlooked for a long time . The Ses Coves Gardes burial caves are located on the opposite rock face . The distance to the sea is about three kilometers as the crow flies.
description
Son Mercer de Baix is the most famous naviform settlement in Menorca. In addition to the Cova des Moro, three other naviforms (habitable navetas , as opposed to those that served as ossuaries ) and two rectangular rooms have been excavated.
Cova des Moro
The Cova des Moro is shaped like an elongated horseshoe . The double walls are built from even megaliths . A large part of the stone slab ceiling has been preserved or reconstructed. However, the original facade has been destroyed. Three of what were once probably four columns of the western Mediterranean polylithic type (stacked columns that taper downwards) lie on the longitudinal axis. The system differs from other naviforms through this row of columns and the stone slab roof. On the right side there seems to have been another (probably similar) structure, separated by a common wall. However, their state of preservation is poor. The shape of the left outside suggests that it was a double system.
Dimensions
- outer length: 17.30 m.
- inner length: 13.00 m.
- maximum external width: 7.20 m.
- maximum inside width: 3.60 m.
- inner height: 2.40 m
View of today's entrance
Right wall with the remains of another building
Left wall
Two polylithic columns inside
More buildings
Naviforme No. 2 was excavated in 1962 by Maria Lluïsa Serra . Prototalayotic and talayotic ceramics were found. The structure is eight meters long and five meters wide. The internal dimensions are 6.50 m and 3 m. The entrance opens to the east. Parallel to this, but opening to the west, is Naviforme No. 3, which was still in use in Roman times, as the artifacts found show. It is with a length of 10 m; and a width of 6.30 m larger than No. 2, but has a slightly smaller interior (6 m length, 3 m width).
In 1982, Naviforme No. 4 was excavated by Lluis Plantalamor. The structure is 18 m long and 7.60 m wide (inside 14 m length, 3.50 m width) and has two attached rectangular rooms. In addition to ceramics, bronze artefacts (a small ingot , a bracelet, a chisel and an awl) and cinder remains were found in the adjoining rooms . It should have been a workshop with a bronze foundry.
Monument protection
The Son Mercer de Baix settlement was declared a Historic Monument in 1931. The current registration number as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) is RI-51-0003487. It is one of the 32 archaeological sites that Spain officially proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List on January 14, 2016 as " Talayotic Culture of Menorca " . The World Heritage Committee postponed the application at its 41st meeting in July 2017 and requested improvements. The site is freely accessible. A display board gives the visitor information about the site.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Son Mercer de Baix naviform settlement on the Menorca Talayótica website, accessed on October 28, 2015.
- ↑ a b c Emili Garcia Amengual: El proceso constructivo de un edificio de la edad del bronce en Menorca. El caso de Son Marcer de Baix (Ferreries, Menorca) (PDF; 1.27 MB). In: Mayurqa: Revista Anual d'Història . No. 31, 2006, pp. 113-136 (Spanish).
- Jump up ↑ Ignacio Montero Ruíz, J. Simón Gornés Hachero, Joan de Nicolás Mascaró, Joana Gual Cerdó: Aproximación a la Metalurgia Prehistórica de Menorca between 2000 and 650 cal AC . In: Mayurqa: Revista Anual d'Història . No. 30 . Universitat de les Illes Balears, 2005, ISSN 0301-8296 , p. 292 ( uib.es [PDF; 16.0 MB ; accessed on October 29, 2015]).
- ^ Antoni Nicolau Martí, Elena Sintes Olives, Ricard Pla Boada, Albert Àlvarez Marsal: Talayotic Minorca . The prehistory of the island. Triangle Books, Sant Lluís 2015, ISBN 978-84-8478-640-5 , pp. 243-247 (English).
- ↑ Talayotic Culture of Minorca , on the Spanish tentative list at UNESCO, accessed on December 12, 2016.
- ↑ World Heritage Committee (Ed.): List of nominations received by February 1, 2016 and for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 41st session (2017) . (English, unesco.org [PDF; 427 kB ]).
- ↑ World Heritage Committee (Ed.): Decisions adopted during the 41st session of the World Heritage Committee (Krakow, 2017) . (English, unesco.org [PDF; 4.5 MB ]).
