Talaiots de Son Fornés

The museum guide dates Son Fornés’ beginnings to around 850 BC, making the oldest buildings roughly 2,900 years old. The talayots belong to this early Iron Age phase.

The settlement was altered and occupied for many centuries afterwards, into Roman times. What you see side by side did not all exist at once. Older walls were reused, houses remodelled and new buildings added.

A talayot is a tower made from large blocks laid without mortar. Three talayots are known at Son Fornés. The museum gives the largest a diameter of 17 metres. Even the surviving walls show how much material had to be moved.

The low entrance and central pillar make this particularly clear. Duck through the passage, then stand beside the pillar’s massive blocks. The roof no longer survives. Enter only accessible areas and respect barriers on site.

The talayots served communal purposes. Research identifies meat processing and distribution in the largest, for example. Homes stood between the towers, so a walk reveals different aspects of life in the settlement.

Between the monumental buildings are rooms with much lower walls, some retaining a stone support. Slow down and look for doorways, corners and connections between rooms.

The site is far from fully uncovered. Excavations began in 1975, and the museum states that only about a quarter has been excavated. Much of its history remains underground.

How were these stones moved? Why did a room need a pillar? Where was the roof? These are useful questions to explore with children. The surviving buildings make their scale and construction easy to grasp.

The ground is uneven and passages are low. Help smaller children over thresholds and through tight spaces; the walls are not for climbing. Tables and benches beneath the trees provide somewhere to rest. Bring food if you would like to finish with a picnic.

The turn-off is on the Ma-3200 from Montuïri to Pina, around kilometre 4.5 according to the museum. A large car park stands at the entrance. Independent visits to the archaeological site are free. Some paths pass beneath trees, but most of the ruins are exposed.

The Museu Arqueològic de Son Fornés is separately located in Montuïri, in the Molí des Fraret on Carrer Emili Pou. Its finds add detail to what you have seen outside. Check the museum’s current hours and charges, which do not automatically apply to the freely accessible archaeological site.

Historical information comes from the Son Fornés museum guide, its description of the talayots and the museum’s excavation history.