Dating Prehistoric Fortified Coastal Sites in the Balearic Islands

Abstract

A special type of coastal settlement, promontory forts defended by inland-facing walls, appeared in the Balearic Islands in an imprecise time during the Bronze Age. A research project was initiated in 2011 to study one of these sites on each of the two major islands of the archipelago. The first one, Es Coll de Cala Morell (north Menorca), is a walled promontory with a relatively large plateau, with 13 horseshoe-shaped houses (navetes). The second, Sa Ferradura (east Mallorca), is a smaller coastal cape, with a different spatial planning, with only two large built-up areas, both attached to the enclosure wall. Two of the navetes have been excavated at Es Coll de Cala Morell, showing a domestic space with a central hearth in both cases. The occupation has been dated to around 1600–1200 cal BC. At Sa Ferradura seven hearths have been recorded in a large, open-air area. Their chronology falls within the interval of approximately 1200/1100–900 cal BC. From a chronological point of view, fortified settlements in coastal promontories are not, as was expected, a unitary phenomenon in Menorca and Mallorca and have to be related to different cultural periods.

Caprine dental microwear reveals livestock management and exploitation of landscape during the Middle and Late Bronze Age of the Balearic Islands (ca. 1500–850 cal. BC)

“…Nevertheless, the lack of coprophilous fungi suggested the existence of agropastoral activities nearby the site but reduced on-site presence of livestock (Servera-Vives and Currás 2017a; Picornell-Servera and Servera-Vives 2019). This is consistent with the idea of a seasonal exploitation of this site (Anglada et al 2017). Based on the fact that dental microwear changes in a few days, we propose that caprine could be transported the days before being killed.…”

“…Regarding its functionality, similar sites had been related with maritime activities just as other islets and other coastal sites occupied during this chronology (Guerrero 2006;Guerrero et al 2007;Calvo et al 2011). However, the monumental defensive wall facing inland, the absence of households, and a typical archaeological record originated by domestic activities, has led the researchers who excavated the site to interpret it as a temporary refuge for some population to protect from other neighbours (Anglada et al 2017(Anglada et al , 2019. From this site, fifteen teeth were selected and eight conserved the dental microwear.…”

“…BC cal. (Anglada et al 2017) (view Supplementary Table 1). The archaeological evidence shows that it is a permanent and long-term settlement.…”

New contributions to understand animal size fluctuations in the western mediterranean: The bronze age Balearic Islands

“…Three other sites had other functionalities: Sa Ferradura (Manacor) is located on an isthmus without domestic structures and has been associated with a non-permanent place with a very specific type of occupation (1100-900 cal BCE; Anglada et al, 2013;2017). Its function as a refuge related to some social instabilities has been proposed because of the very large number of hearths in the site and because the entrance is located on a rocky isthmus closed off by a wall (Anglada et al, 2017(Anglada et al, , 2019. S'Illot des Porros (Sta.…”

Actividades productivas en contextos domésticos de la segunda Edad del Hierro en Menorca: la industria macrolítica del Círculo 7 de Torre d’en Galmés (Alaior).

“…A tal efecto, es posible comparar el Círculo 7 con otro contexto doméstico menorquín de diferente cronología: la Naveta 12 de Es Coll de Cala Morell, en uso entre ca. 1600 y 1200 a.C. (Anglada et al 2017c). En esta unidad se documentó, en los niveles de uso, un único conjunto de molino de vaivén, formado por una pieza móvil tipo moló y una pieza fija (Ferrer, 2019).…”