Torralba d'en Salort: Home to Ancient Talayots and Mysterious Sculptures

Torralba d'en Salort is an archaeological site in Menorca, Spain, renowned for its talayotics structures. The sun-kissed island is home to these ancient structures that date back thousands of years, one of which is 'El poblat talaiòtic de Torralba d'en Salort'. Situated along the road between Alaior and Cala en Porter, it presents one of the tallest talayots conserved in Menorca - the northern talaiot, which stands approximately 5 meters in height and 2.5 meters in width.

The site also houses another talayot, the southern talaiot, with an atuell within it containing cereals from around 1300 BC. The northern talaiot, a dominant feature of the site, is the only talayot that still has its upper part visible. It also has a hypostyle room. The southern talaiot is located behind the northern talaiot, and is built over a house pretalaiotica with an oval plan. An atuell containing carbonized cereals from around 1300 BC was found in the southern talaiot.

When the southern talaiot fell into disuse, part of the stones were used to build the northern talaiot's enclosure. A third talaiot might be hidden by vegetation. The northern talaiot, the central piece of Torralba, has become one of the symbols of Minorcan prehistory. In the northern talaiot, an altar made of stone was found, with the remains of a bronze sculpture of a horse on top. A bronze sculpture in the form of a bull, known as the Bou de Torralba, was found near the northern talaiot.

The bull sculpture is now on display at the Museum of Menorca. Torralba d'en Salort is one of the prehistoric Menorcan sites included in the Menorca Talayotic candidature as UNESCO World Heritage.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons