#alaior

Alaior

Calescoves Necropolis in Alaior, Menorca (Balearic Islands).

This is the largest necropolis of the ancient Talaiotic culture in Menorca. It consists of more than 90 caves excavated in the rock. The oldest ones are natural caves where humans simply added the door, thought to have been in use between the years 1100 BC and 700 BC. Most caves are artificial, excavated by humans in the Bronze Age (800 BC to 600 BC) and Iron Age (750 BC to 123 BC). These caves were used to bury people with prized objects. After the Roman occupation (123 BC), the place was still used as a site for religious pilgrimage, as can be attested by the engravings in one of the caves.

The objects found in these tombs, as well as the remains of the sunken ships found in the cove in front, can be seen in Menorca’s Museum.

¡Se acerca la Fiestas Patronales de Alaior!

Caballo de fiestas patronales de Alaior

Alaior, Menorca. (Getty Images via x)

Egyptian statue of Imhotep, found in the taula (holy area) of the Torre d'en Galmés archaeological site in Alaior, Menorca, Balearic Islands.

It is the only Imhotep sculpture found outside of Egypt.

The bronze statue is 15 cm tall and was made between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE.

Torre d’en Galmés was a Talaiotic village. The Talaiotic culture was the culture that developed in the islands of Mallorca and Menorca during the Bronze Age and Iron Age, and who had commercial relations with the rest of the Mediterranean. The area where Imhotep’s statue was found, accompanied by what seem to be two surgical instruments and a quadrangular stone related to the pouring of liquids during rituals, was in use between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, in the Late Talaiotic period.