The settlement of Talatí de Dalt

Monuments | Maó - Mahón

The most emblematic settlement in Minorcan prehistory, thanks to its unique taula and wide variety of monuments. Only four kilometres from Maó on the Ciutadella-Maó road stands Talatí de Dalt, a prehistoric talayotic settlement that preserves a number of important monuments, including the central talayot, a sanctuary with a taula, several chambers with stone-clad columns and natural caves. The settlement is ringed by a dry stone wall and its highest point, the talayot in the centre, was used as a watchtower to control the territory as well as the sanctuary with its spectacular taula supported by the enclosure's pilaster, which was erected between the sixth and fourth centuries BC and used as the venue for rituals and offerings for fertile lands and livestock. The many excavations carried out by the Amics del Museu Association in Menorca and Arqueomenorca have led to findings that indicate the settlement housed around one hundred of people at its most populated point in time, around the third century BC.