Sa Cudia Cremada facts for kids

Sa Cudia Cremada is an amazing ancient place found near the city of Mahón on the island of Menorca, which is part of the Balearic Islands in Spain. This site holds the remains of an old settlement from the Talaiotic culture. People lived here during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Even after the Romans arrived, people continued to use this site for a while. Some clues also suggest it might have been used again during the Middle Ages.

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  Map of Menorca.

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  Location of the Balearic Islands, off the Mediterranean coast of Spain.

Discovering Sa Cudia Cremada

This ancient site is really well-preserved. You can see many of its original buildings and structures. The most important parts are three large towers called talayots, a special religious building known as a sanctuary, several underground caves called hypogea, and a big pit that might have been used for storing food. There's also a part of an old wall.

The Big Towers (Talayots)

There are three main talayots at Sa Cudia Cremada. These are huge, cone-shaped towers built with very large stones, a style known as cyclopean construction.

The Eastern Talayot

The talayot furthest to the east is shaped like an oval. Its base is about 19 meters wide. One side of it faces south and has an entrance. This entrance leads into a room inside the tower. The roof of this room, made of big stone blocks, is still partly there.

The Large Oval Talayot

About 200 meters away from the eastern talayot, you'll find another huge oval-shaped talayot. This one is solid, meaning it doesn't have a big room inside. It's about 20 meters wide and 5 meters tall. It might have had steps on its southern side, similar to other talayots found on Menorca, like the one at Cornia Nou. A wide wall, about 1.5 meters tall, is built right next to this talayot.

The Small Circular Talayot

There's also a third talayot that is smaller and round. It has an entrance on its northern side that leads to an inner room. This room is currently filled with rocks that have fallen from the top of the tower. A rectangular building is also attached to the northern side of this talayot, but we don't know what it was used for yet.

The Special Sanctuary (Taula Enclosure)

One of the most important buildings at Sa Cudia Cremada is the sanctuary, also called a Taula enclosure. It's very close to the two larger talayots. This building is shaped like a half-circle and faces south. It was also built using the cyclopean technique with huge stones. The entrance seems to be blocked. Since archaeologists haven't dug inside this building yet, we don't know exactly what it looks like inside. However, these types of religious buildings usually have a T-shaped stone monument called a Taula inside.

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  Hypogeum or artificial cave necropolis from Sa Cudia Cremada

Other Interesting Structures

Around the site, you can find more ancient structures. There's a long section of a cyclopean wall that runs from east to west. There's also a large pit covered by a stone slab, which might have been used for storage. A tall standing stone is also present, possibly part of a building that is still buried. Finally, there are several hypogea, which are artificial caves carved into the natural rock. These caves were used as burial sites for many people.

Sa Cudia Cremada is one of 32 talayotic sites on Menorca. These sites are part of an effort to have Menorca Talayótica recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This would mean these amazing ancient places are protected and celebrated worldwide.

See also

In Spanish: Sa Cudia Cremada para niños

• Talaiotic Culture
• Gymnesian Islands