Archaeological project covering the "post-mediaeval" building in Torralba d'en Salort.
Location:Torralba d'en Salort
Project managers:Amics del Museu de Menorca
Team:Borja Corral, co-director.
Carlos de Salort, co-director.
Francesc Isbert, in charge for conservation-restoration.
Cecilia Ligero, in charge for conservation-restoration.
Jordi Saura, medievalist historian.
Ana Oliveira, technical archaeologist.
Alex Valenzuela, archaeozoology.
Mark Van Strydonck, carbon 14 and isotopia.
Amalia Pérez-Juez & Paul Goldberg, soil micromorphology.
Miguel P. Jiménez, topography and orthophotogrammetry.
Lorenzo Picornell, anthracology.
Scientific objectives:Amics del Museu de Menorca and the Illes Balears Foundation presented in August 2022 the preliminary results of the first field season of the archaeological project covering the "post-mediaeval" building in Torralba d'en Salort, a project that will continue for a further four years, with the aim of
ascertaining the origin and functionality of the building, and allowing it to be recovered and preserved.
The
structure measures some 250 m², comprising two abutting volumes, one of which has a notable northwest-facing doorway with two chapels at the sides. Two Latin crosses have been carved into the top of the two chapels, which are made of the local sandstone known as marés.
Although researchers and visitors to the settlement have suggested a series of hypotheses, both as to the era to which it might belong and also its functionality, the fact is that
the history of the structure currently remains unknown.
This research project involves not only archaeological excavation, but also archive searches. The goal is to establish a dialogue between the written history of Menorca's industrial past (13th-19th centuries) and the material remains that still exist. The idea is that the archaeological excavation of this building should
cast light on how Menorca's countryside evolved, addressing material aspects which lie outside the scope of written history.
Results obtained:This year's field season focused on removing the rubble from one of the volumes of the building. In under three weeks,
50 tonnes of stone were removed: more than a hundred construction sacks filled with small backfill rocks, medium-sized stones and blocks of dressed marés sandstone. A crane truck was used on an almost daily basis for this purpose. Many of the stones were transferred to a designated area at the site itself, to be preserved for use in future stabilisation, consolidation and wall restoration work planned as part of the conservation-restoration project.
The quantity and location of the stones suggests to the researchers that this volume fell out of use in the contemporary era, once the original building had been completely abandoned. One of the most feasible hypotheses is that it was a rustic home in the modern era, between the 16th and 18th centuries, although as the project is at an initial stage, no further details can yet be offered.
Among all that stone, some
ceramic materials were also uncovered: a number of kitchen materials or local earthenware, and a great many tiles. There are also some samples of 17th- and 18th-century ceramic materials imported from Italy and France. Numerous specific architectural elements of the building have been uncovered, such as possible parts of vaults, arch stones… Many blocks have
Latin crosses carved into them, with one block notably bearing the engraved marks of a board game: an
alquerque board, similar to today's noughts and crosses.
Supporting entities:Fundació Illes Balears
Amics del Museu de Menorca
Consell Insular de Menorca