Ses Païsses

Historia

Ses Païsses is a Bronze Age talayotic settlement on the southeastern outskirts of Artà in northeastern Majorca. It is one of the most important and best-preserved prehistoric sites in the Balearic Islands, although it is largely overgrown with woodland, mainly Quercus ilex (holm oak), making it impossible to see the site as a whole.DefinitionThe talaiots, or talayots, are Bronze Age megalithic structures on the islands of Menorca and Majorca. There are at least 274 of them. Dating from the late second millennium and early first millennium BC (between 1,300–900BC), they are round or square structures built of rough stone, around a central space at the center of which stood a column. This supported a ceiling of stone slabs which also formed the floor of the next story. Their purpose is not clearly understood: religious or tribal ceremonies, storehouses and distribution centres have been suggested. They are not thought to have been used as dwelling places or as defensive buildings.These monuments pre-date the taulas, which are usually found nearby. The Talaiotic Culture began some 3,000 years ago and ended with the arrival of the Romans in the Balearic Islands in 123BC.Development of the settlementThe Ses Païsses settlement is thought to have begun as a cylindrical talaiot, or "turriform", built during the first millennium BC on a hillside with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. Originally it would have stood alone, probably as a territorial marker. The tower is 12m in diameter and still stands 4m tall; there are stairs within the massively thick wall, but the building's central column has not survived. Visitors to the site are not allowed to access this building.