Talayotic Menorca will participate again this year in the Tarraco Viva historical re-enactment festival. The Menorcan candidacy will present various activities between May 19 and 21 in a unique setting to publicize Menorca's prehistoric heritage. The aim is to continue disseminating Talayotic Menorca at a national level, as contemplated in the MT Communications Plan. The Menorcan delegation will be made up of 14 people including organizers, slingers, participants in the historical recreation and the Grahame Pearce's brewmaster.
Tarraco Viva is a historical re-enactment festival that was born in 1999 as an activity to support the candidacy of the city of Tarragona to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This year it will celebrate its 25th anniversary as a festival fully rooted in the city and a benchmark within the festivals that take place in Spain.
The activities related to Talayotic Menorca are the following:
1.- Historical re-enactment Funditores Baleares, The warriors of the Balearic Islands.
The Romans knew Menorca and Majorca because the slingers born on these islands threw stones more skillfully than anyone else. Nothing strange, since in the insula Balearis Minor there are more stones than any other resource, so the life of its inhabitants was never easy. The settlements of that time that are still preserved in the Menorcan landscape tell us about an exceptional culture -the Talayotic-, with constructions made of stone that are unique such as the navetas, the taula enclosures and the circular houses.
The show will stage a historical recreation complemented by the explanations of the archaeologist Borja Corral, which will place the public in the context of the final Talayotic period. In turn, a Talayotic family and some slingers will "illustrate" some of the domestic tasks or rituals that could have taken place during that time. Organized by Amics del Museu de Menorca with the collaboration of Honderos de la Menor and the Federació de Tir amb Fona Balear - Unió Excursionista de Menorca.
-Location:
Auditorium Theater of the Camp de Mart Gardens.
-Schedules:
5/20/23: 1:00 p.m. (Catalan)
5/20/23: 7:30 p.m. (Spanish)
2.- Sling making workshop. The Balearic slingshot, learn to make your own slingshot.
By Lluís Pons Livermore from Honderos de la Menor and the Federació de Tir amb Fona Balear - Unió Excursionista de Menorca. The slingshot is one of the oldest weapons, whose use is documented in many places around the planet. It is especially linked to people dedicated to grazing and hunting, where it can cover multiple needs. The talayotics enrolled as mercenaries in the Carthaginian and Roman armies, and used the sling as a dangerous weapon. They went into battle with three slingshots braided with esparto grass or hemp: a long-distance one firmly at the waist, a short-distance one at the head or neck, and an intermediate-range one in the hand.
In this workshop, one of the best shooters in the world will show various types of slingshots and projectiles, will teach how to weave a slingshot and use it with the Menorcan slingers technique (tennis balls).
-Location:
Auditorium Theater of the Camp de Mart Gardens.
-Schedules:
5/20/23: 11:00 a.m. (Catalan)
5/21/23: 11:00 a.m. (Spanish)
3.- Chat and tasting. Beer and cheese from Menorca. A historical journey through Menorcan gastronomy.
The archaeologist Borja Corral will talk about gastronomy in Talayotic and Roman times in Menorca. They will pay special attention to products such as wine, beer and cheese. It will be linked to the explanation of these products in modern times and a tasting of Talaiòtica beer and Maó cheese. By Roger Vila, Grahame Pearce's brewmaster.
-Location:
Presentation tent of the Camp de Mart Gardens.
-Schedules:
5/20/23: 1:00 p.m. (Catalan)