Montefí is a settlement from the Talayotic period (approximately the 10th century BC) that was in use through Roman times. It was in all its splendour as one of the largest settlements in the area around the port of Ciutadella.
A notable trait of this settlement is its lack of a taula enclosure, although it is possible that it did in fact include one at some point, considering the destruction the settlement has been subjected to throughout history.
Schedule: Open access
Price: Free
Open: Yes
Access: The Montefí settlement is located along the Me-1 main road at km 42 from Maó to Ciutadella. Access is from the south on Camí Vell road just outside of Ciutadella.
Road signs are posted.
Car Park: Yes
Guided tours: Visitor information panels are posted.
Contact:
Services: No
Access for individuals with reduced mobility: No
More information See map
More information: The only remains visible at present are three of the four original talayots, a necropolis made up of hypogea, the remains of circles, storage silos and cisterns used for water catchment, a group of buildings and other areas used to conduct any necessities and all the everyday activities of a population group that was tightly linked to livestock and agricultural farming.
The northernmost talayot is apsidal in shape and has a concave and monumental façade.
The western talayot is characterised by the enormous size of the stones used in its construction.
The southern talayot has a round layout and a corridor running around a solid central section, which appears to have led to an upper level at one end and to the entrance to an undetermined area of the central section of the talayot at the other. The internal structure cannot be clearly deciphered due to the collapse of many stones, but intervention could reveal a quite interesting architectural structure.
According to historically published data, the remains of many structures were found around the extensive areas of land between the talayots that have since disappeared from sight due primarily to agricultural labours over the last 50 years.
Within the archaeological area, we also find a noteworthy necropolis of hypogea (with as many as twelve according to historical sources), virtually all off which however are currently sealed and filled with sediment. Six have been identified and other clues likely show two more.
The most monumental of these, quite large in fact, is found 200 m to the east of the southern talayot. It shows an access corridor with the remains of the roof and is thought to have been used originally as a funerary area.
During the construction of the Ronda Sud southern ring road in 2005, emergency archaeological excavation was carried out on the Camí Vell section, which unearthed a storage and production area from the Talayotic period made up of a number of elements that had been dug out from the parent rock: 17 silos, 8 storage pits, a number of sections of walls, channels and holes, some with stone coverings and postholes or markings from the structures that supported porches or roofs. Also discovered were walls from Roman times and a funerary hypogeum from the naviform period. The entire area has been covered and protected in hopes of continuing with its recovery when a new access point is created for this road.