Talatí de Dalt
| Talatí de Dalt Poblat talaiòtic de Talatí de Dalt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 The Taula of Talatí de Dalt |
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Location in Menorca |
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| Coordinates | 39 ° 53 '34.5 " N , 4 ° 12' 55.4" E | ||
| place | Maó , Menorca , Balearic Islands , Spain | ||
| Emergence | 850 to 123 BC Chr. | ||
| height | 93 m | ||
Talatí de Dalt is an archaeological excavation site on the Balearic island of Menorca . The talayotic settlement was established from the 9th century BC. Built in BC. Talatí de Dalt had its heyday between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC. BC, when Punic traders from Ibiza ensured far-reaching trade relations. During this time the settlement was inhabited by about 100 people. Ceremonies seem to have been held there until the High Middle Ages .
location
The prehistoric settlement is located in the municipality of Maó about four kilometers west of the city center and can be reached after about 500 m from the island's main road Me-1 via the Cami de Talatí. The place Alaior is about eight kilometers northwest.
The talayots of three neighboring settlements can be seen from the top of the central talayot , a tower-like rotunda made using cyclopentine technology, the function of which is not yet fully understood - Cornia Nou in the southeast, Torelló in the south and Biniaiet Vell in the northwest.
description
The archaeological site of Talatí de Dalt is one of the landmarks of Menorca. This is due to its extremely good state of preservation and the unusual taula , a megalithic cult building that can only be found on this island . The most important elements of a post-Talayotic settlement and necropolis can be found here .
At the highest point of the settlement with 93 m is the one from the 9th or 8th century BC. Central talayot , originating in the 4th century BC , which has the shape of a truncated cone with an elliptical floor plan and is up to 16.50 m thick at the base. Its eastern flank shows considerable damage, but from the west its construction from rows of stacked stone blocks is clearly visible. The remains of a small space that has not yet been excavated have been preserved at the top. To the north of the central one, at the edge of the settlement, is a second, smaller talayot, to which a building with a rectangular floor plan was attached. Today there is a single pillar between the talayots, which probably belonged to a post-talayotic round house ( cercle ).
As in other prehistoric settlements in Menorca, the taula is made up of two large, hewn monoliths joined together in the shape of the letter "T". The upright supporting stone has a flat, almost rectangular shape, while the capital resembles an inverted truncated pyramid with a rectangular base. The monument is the center of a cult site with a horseshoe-shaped floor plan, the original entrance of which is now blocked by the south-facing, slightly concave facade. The special thing about the Taula in Talatí de Dalt is a pillar that leans on the side of the capital. On the eastern outer wall of the Taula sanctuary there is a small columned hall ( hypostylon ), which can be entered from the north. Part of the roof made of flat stone slabs is supported by both monolithic and polylithic columns and pillars.
The Taula district is 14.10 m wide and 16.00 m deep. The supporting stone of the taula is 3.00 m high, 2.60 to 2.70 m wide and 55 to 60 cm thick. The capstone has a length of 3.80 to 4.00 m, a width of 1.38 m to 1.50 m and is 65 cm thick.
In the southern area of the site there is a building complex that is unique in Menorca. The individual buildings are similar to the columned halls, which are often found as an extension of post-Talayotic round houses or also standing individually, but differ architecturally from these. A narrow path leads to the first of these buildings, in which a central monolithic column with a capital supports the entire roof made of stone slabs and earth. There is a narrow niche on the side, and opposite the door several steps lead down into a chamber carved out of the rock. From the path, a passage leads into a trapezoidal inner courtyard, from where another building, divided into several small rooms, can be entered. A skeleton of a girl from Roman times was found here during excavations. A third building, which, like the others, is entered through an entrance made of monolithic door posts and a door lintel, has an elongated rectangular shape. The roof is made of large stone slabs that are not supported by any pillars. Shards of Islamic ceramics prove that the building complex was used until the 13th century.
In the east of the site there are still parts of the former protective wall of the settlement as well as the remains of some round houses and a pillared hall.
There are also two artificially extended natural caves in Talatí de Dalt , which were probably used as burial sites before the settlement was built, as well as a cistern and a well from the 19th century. The well was only discovered in 2002 because it was buried. Its opening has a diameter of 10 m. It is about 6 m deep.
Excavations and monument protection
Maria Lluïsa Serra (1911-1967) carried out the first excavations in the area of the taula. She found traces of ashes and fragments of Roman pottery . Systematic excavations have been carried out in Talatí de Dalt since 1997, initially by the Amics del Museu de Menorca association ("Friends of the Museum of Menorca"), and later by the Arqueomenorca company , which manages various archaeological sites. The unique hypostylon-like building complex was exposed.
The settlement has been a historical monument under state protection since 1931. It is registered as an archaeological site ( Zona Arqueológica ) in the Spanish database of cultural assets ( Bienes de Interés Cultural ) under number RI-55-0000687 .
Talati de Dalt is one of the 32 archaeological sites that Spain officially proposed on January 14, 2016 as " Talayotic Culture of Menorca " for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List . The World Heritage Committee postponed the application at its 41st meeting in July 2017 and requested improvements.
Web links
- Joan C. de Nicolàs i Mascaró, Ferran Lagarda i Mata: Talatí de Dalt on the website of Arqueomenorca, SL (2003)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e 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. 112-119 (English).
- ↑ a b c Poblat talaiòtic de Talatí de Dalt on the Menorca Talayótica website (Catalan), accessed on November 12, 2015.
- ↑ Corinna Kortemeier: Reconstruction of the prehistoric settlement and landscape development on Menorca (Balearic Islands / Spain) (PDF; 11.4 MB), dissertation, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel , Kiel 2014.
- ↑ Ferran Lagarda i Mata: Talatí de Dalt (Taulas) on the website www.arqueoguia.com (English), accessed on November 12, 2015.
- ↑ Gustau Juan, Joaquim Pons, Octavi Pons, Carmen Lara, Josep Marques, Francesk Isbert: Talatí de dalt (Maó - Menorca). Avenç delsresultats de les excavacions fetes entre 1997 i 2000 (PDF; 3.27 MB). In: BSAL 58, 2002, pp. 371-378. (Catalan)
- ↑ Cultural heritage database at the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (note: search for “Talati de Dalt”), accessed on November 19, 2014
- ↑ Talayotic Culture of Minorca , on the Spanish tentative list at UNESCO (English), accessed on October 28, 2017.
- ↑ 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 ]).