Torralba d'en Salord
| Torralba d'en Salord | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) The Taula of Torralba d´en Salord |
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Location in Menorca |
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| Coordinates | 39 ° 54 '45 " N , 4 ° 9' 49" E | ||
| place | Alaior , Balearic Islands , Spain | ||
| Emergence | 1400 BC Chr. | ||
| height | 117 m | ||
Torralba d'en Salord (also Torralba d'en Salort ) is an archaeological excavation site on the Spanish Balearic island of Menorca . The settlement originated in the Bronze Age and was inhabited until the 13th century.
Excavation history
In the complex of Torralba d'en Salord on the Balearic island of Menorca , Spain , seven archaeological excavation campaigns were carried out between 1973 and 1981 by William H. Waldren (1924–2003) and Manuel Fernández-Miranda (1946–1994). They focused on the hypostyle hall , the site of the taula, and the western talayot . The large eastern talayot and numerous scattered remains that belong to the prehistoric settlement and are half-buried await their recovery have not yet been excavated . Furthermore, these are the remains of an old building that apparently belong to the old country house of Torralba and of which some walls and the remains of a chapel, perhaps from the Middle Ages , still stand .
description
The hypostyle hall (column hall)
Rooms with an unclear function got this name because of the structural elements that characterize them. They have a roof of flat smooth stones, which is supported on mono- or polylithic columns. Hypostyloi are isolated or they can be found on the island in talayotic settlements such as Torre d'en Galmés . The fully excavated hall of Torralba is the only one on the roof of which the well-defined mound of earth has been preserved. In the meantime, considerations have been made as to whether the Taula sites are not the remains of enlarged hypostyloi.
The site of the taula
The site of the taula has the shape of a horseshoe , which in prehistoric times was one of the defining features of many cultures. Its facade is slightly curved inwards (concave). The inner and outer walls that surround the Taula Square are made of carefully worked stone. The taula itself consists of two large hewn monoliths that form a "T". The load-bearing stone in Torralba d'en Salord has a height of 4.30 m, a width of 2.44 m and a thickness between 0.43 and 0.53 m. The stone lying on top has the shape of a four-sided truncated pyramid standing on its top surface and is about 3.66 to 3.86 m long, 1.10 to 1.24 m wide and 0.73 m thick. The taula of Torralba d'en Salord is one of the largest on the island. The excavation finally confirmed the function of such monuments. The existence of a large area of ash bounded by a circular formation, which is located in the front part of the horseshoe structure to the right of the portal, must be interpreted as a burnt offering place. Ceramic fragments and bones of pigs , goats and cut up cattle have been found on it and in other closed areas inside this site , which undoubtedly represent the remains of ritual sacrifices .
The excavations also produced other symbolic-religious finds. The bronze figurine of a bull and some small censer made with molds made of terracotta . They represent the Punic goddess Tanit and were located behind the taula, to the left of an altar or stone substructure that still stands in its original location. On its flat surface were the lead-fastened hooves, stuck in small holes in the stone, of an animal, also made of bronze and slightly larger than the bull.
The time seems to be clear, because even if based on the C14 analysis and the finds of Roman ceramics from this time their use up to the end of the 2nd century AD could be proven with absolute certainty, both were in a hollow of the rock bottom as well as the boundary wall dates around the year 1000 BC. Around.
The talayots
There are two talayots in Torralba. The one with the larger diameter and an almost cylindrical stone on the top is in an elevated position and probably has additions that can only be proven by future excavations. The other talayot stands in the back of the taula and has already been excavated. The foundation of a third talayot may be hidden by the vegetation, although its existence is uncertain. Only part of the outer wall of the excavated talayot has been preserved. It was built with stones of enormous dimensions. It was determined by the C14 analysis to 1200 BC. Dated. Some of the missing blocks were used to build the site with the taula about two hundred years later. The excavation under the inner floor of the talayot revealed a pretalayotic building with an oval floor plan, the walls of which had been built with stones of smaller size. A vessel with charred grain was found in it, which C14 dates to around 1310 BC. Chr. Revealed.
Others
Interesting remains that can be seen in Torralba d'en Salord but have not yet been explored are those of a Cyclopean wall that probably once completely surrounded the site. Water storage tanks, commonly known as sitjots in Spanish, and several artificial caves that may have served as a burial site are located in the complex. Nearby you can also see a threshing floor carved out of the rock and a small stable with a gate and the Na Patarrà fountain .
Nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage List
Torralba d'en Salord 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.
The talayotic settlement of Torralba d'en Salord is protected as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) under the registration number RI-51-0003227-00000.
literature
- Massanet LP: La Casa Prehistorica a Menorca 2000
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tomàs Vibot: Archaeological Tour through Menorca , El Gall Editor, Pollença 2006, ISBN 978-84-96608-30-6 , p. 35f.
- ↑ Vicente Ibáñez Place : Análisis geométrico de las taulas de Menorca: Taulas de Torralba d'en Salort y Sa Torreta de Tramuntana (PDF; 433 kB). In: Actas del Segundo Congreso Nacional de Historia de la Construcción, A Coruña , 22.-24. October 1998
- ↑ 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 ]).
- ↑ Torralba d'en Salort talayotic settlement on the Menorca Talayótica website, accessed on September 20, 2016.
Web links
- Torralba d'en Salord on www.illesbalears.es