Culture

Son Mercer de Baix Naviforme Settlement

This prehistoric settlement is made up of a group of houses called navetas (or naviformes). This type of structure gave its name to an extensive period of Menorcan prehistory, the Naviforme period (1600 - 1000 BC). The settlement must have been abandoned at an unknown time, as no Talayotic remains have been found (the culture that followed the Naviforme period).

Seven structures of two different types have been identified. Five of them are horseshoe-shaped and two are rectangular. Although the site is not very big, the settlement is of considerable importance both due to its strategic location to make use of Son Fideu ravine (which would allow communication with the sea) and due to one of the constructions, known as Cova des Moro.

This structure is unique as it has a roof made of horizontal stone slabs, supported by three columns. Normally the roof on these buildings was made of wood, branches and mud, and therefore they have not been preserved over time. The roof had to be restored at the beginning of the century due to a collapse.

The site was subject to several archaeological campaigns between the 1960s and 1980s. During the digs, several bronze objects were found, which you can see at the Museum of Menorca.