This is an interdisciplinary research project whose main objective is to advance our knowledge of the funerary practices and rituals of the communities that inhabited Menorca at the end of the Bronze Age.
Location:Alaior (Menorca)
Project managers:Marta Díaz-Zorita Bonilla and Auxilio Moreno Onorato
Team:
Marta Díaz-Zorita Bonilla and Auxilio Moreno Onorato
Francisco Contreras (University of Granada)
Martin Bartelheim (University of Tübingen)
Margarita Orfila (University of Granada, retired)
Aida Andrades Valtueña (Max Planck Institute)
Ángel Blanco Lapaz (Microfauna, University of Tübingen)
Döbereiner Chala-Aldana (Spatial archaeology and isotopes, University of Tübingen)
Alberto Dorado Alejo (Ceramology. University of Granada)
Javier Escudero Carrillo (Zooarchaeology and Isotopes. University of Tübingen)
Antonio García Casco (Geology. University of Granada)
Margarita Gleba (Textiles. University of Padova)
Paul Goldberg (Geoarchaeology. University of Tübingen)
Derek Hamilton (Radiocarbon. University of Glasgow/SUERC)
Alexandros Fotios Karakostis (Bioarchaeology. University of Tübingen)
Simone Korolnik (Restoration. University of Tübingen)
Aaron Lackinger (Archaeometallurgy. University of Granada)
Elisa Luzi (Microfauna. University of Tübingen)
Mauricio Marciales Daza (Isotopes. University of Tübingen)
Berta Morel Rovira (Radiocarbon. CSIC Barcelona)
Ignacio Montero Ruíz (Archaeometallurgy. CSIC Madrid)
Amalia Pérez Juez (Geoarchaeology. Boston University)
Llorens Picornell (Anthracology. University of the Balearic Islands)
Cosimo Posth (DNA. University of Tübingen)
Katherina Rebay Salisbury (Bioarchaeology. University of Vienna)
Maria Spyrou (DNA Pathogens. University of Tübingen)
Hans-Peter Stika (Archaeobotany. University of Hohenheim)
Monice Timm (Bioarchaeology. University of Tübingen)
Scientific objectives:- To determine the chrono-temporal limits of the period of use of the Biniedrís cave.
- Reconstruct the palaeodemography and understand the distribution of individuals by age and sex.
- To understand the palaeodiet and reconstruct the environment.
- To investigate mobility patterns and reconstruct activity patterns.
Results obtained:Research at Biniedrís has been ongoing since 2014. In that year we began Phase I (2014-2022) and we are currently in Phase II (2023-2028) in which we hope to complete the excavation work.
The project focuses on the study of a natural cave that was anthropised by means of a dry stone masonry enclosure that leaves a rather peculiar entrance, giving direct access to a sacralised space with a specific funerary use.
The site is characterised by its excellent preservation of organic material (fabric, cords, hair, wood and human and animal bone and dental remains) and of the objects of material culture that formed part of the grave goods (metal elements, worked bone, ceramics, etc.), and in which, despite the collective aspect it presents, the reality of the record shows us an organisation of the space in which the human bones show very little fragmentation due to the care that was taken when they were shaped to leave free space and, above all, to the ritual nature of the site itself.
This space brings together a series of ritual practices in which the repositioning of skulls in a space physically delimited by wood and the preservation of a lock of hair, previously dyed red and placed in cases made expressly for this purpose, stand out.
To date, more than 7000 records of human skeletal remains have been recovered, of which around 10,000 skeletal elements have been analysed. The palaeodemographic study characterises the general state of health of the buried population as good, which may be related to the living conditions of the individuals. This study also reveals that there is a close biological relationship between the individuals and that there seems to be no, or at most little, division of labour by sex.
Supporting entities:Rubió Tudurí Foundation
DFG
Consell Insular de Menorca