Naveta d'Es Tudons

Naveta of Es Tudons

Naveta d'Es Tudons
Façade and side wall of the Naveta d'Es Tudons
Shown within Minorca
Alternate name	Naveta des Tudons
Location	Minorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Coordinates	40°00′11″N 3°53′30″E / 40.003128°N 3.891558°E / 40.003128; 3.891558Coordinates: 40°00′11″N 3°53′30″E / 40.003128°N 3.891558°E / 40.003128; 3.891558
Type	Burial site
Length	13.60 metres (44.6 ft)
Width	6.40 metres (21.0 ft)
Height	4.50 metres (14.8 ft)
History
Material	limestone
Founded	2000-1000 BC
Abandoned	750 BC
Cultures	pre-Talaiotic age
Site notes
Excavation dates	1959
Condition	restored
Public access	yes

The Naveta d'Es Tudons, or Naveta of Es Tudons (in Menorquí, naveta, or naueta, a diminutive form of nau, means nave, and Es Tudons, lit. the woodpigeons, is the name of the place), is the most remarkable megalithic chamber tomb in the Balearic island of Minorca, Spain.

It is located in the Western part of the island, on the Ciutadella de Menorca-Mahón road, approximately 3 miles out from Ciutadella, and 200 m south of the road. It stands on slightly rising ground in a sloping valley. Currently the Naveta d'Es Tudons is open to the public for visits (except for its interior as a measure of protection). It is one of the main tourist attractions of Menorca.

In Menorca and Majorca there are several dozen habitational and funerary naveta complexes, some of which similarly comprise two storeys. Navetas (navetes in Menorquí) are chronologically pre-Talaiotic (i.e. prior to the Talaiotic age) constructions. Navetas were described in the early 19th century but not excavated until the 20th, notably during the 1960s and 1970s. Navetas were first given their name by the rather imaginative Dr Juan Ramis (1818) from their resemblance to upturned boats.

The Naveta d'Es Tudons is the largest and best preserved funerary naveta in Menorca. The Naveta d'Es Tudons served as collective ossuary between 1200 and 750 BC. The lower chamber was for stashing the disarticulated bones of the dead after the flesh had been removed while the upper chamber was probably used for the drying of recently placed corpses. Radiocarbon dating of the bones found in the different funerary navetas in Menorca indicate a usage period between about 1130-820 BC, but the navetas like the Naveta d'Es Tudons are probably older. Pre-Talaiotic constructions are dated using an uncalibrated radiocarbon chronology from 1640 to 1400 BC. The navetas used for communal burial rituals are dated to the late second millennium and early first millennium BC.

Although listed in the Spanish heritage register on 3 June 1931 (RI-51-0003442), the naveta d'Es Tudons was excavated and restored by archaeologist Lluís Pericot García in 1959-1960. It was found to contain the remains of at least 100 skeletons (one with trepanned skull). Various recovered objects like bronze bracelets or bone and ceramic buttons are today on display in the Museu de Menorca in Mahón. Restoration works were carried out and the two or three missing courses at the top were put back in place. For protection, it was surrounded at a distance by a recently restored modern dry stone field wall.