The company REM Experience, which was awarded the minor contract to produce the photogrammetry and 3D studies of six monuments on the island, has presented all the documentation produced, most notably the 3D reproduction of the landmark northern tayalot of Sant Agustí Vell, one of the sites included in the Talayotic Menorca nomination. The new digital content will be used to facilitate the conservation, research, cataloguing, restoration and showcasing of this element of Menorca's historical heritage.
The documentation efforts were financed with Next Generation EU funds transferred from the State to the Autonomous Region of the Balearic Islands, and then passed on to the Consell Insular de Menorca (CIM), which has responsibility for administering the island's historical heritage.
The goal of the project was to obtain as lifelike as possible a digital replica, and the digitalisation process (from the taking of photographs to the audiovisual production) therefore employed a series of methodologies serving to achieve the intended photo-realistic finish for each of the sites. Some of the projects involved more than 3,000 photographs being taken, and then processed in high-quality models. The end result comprised photogrammetric models of between 60 and 200 million polygons, depending on the model.
Sant Agustí Vell
The northern talayot of Sant Agustí or Ses Bigues de Mata (declared a Site of Cultural Interest) is one of the talayots that has aroused the greatest interest over the course of contemporary history, thanks to the monumental nature of its internal chamber, which is unusual on Menorca.
With a circular layout and truncated conical profile, it was built in courses of blocks which are much larger and more regular at the base than higher up. The interior was emptied out in days gone by for farming use, and its original function cannot therefore be determined.
However, given its form and a number of the adjacent structures, the interpretation is that it was a distinctly public building of symbolic meaning for the community. It is located at the prehistoric settlement of Sant Agustí, included in Component 4 of Talayotic Menorca, where a number of other structures also still stand, such as houses, shrines and areas for work and leisure.
The other four prehistoric monuments documented by REM Experience in 3D are: the hypostyle hall of Torre Vella, the hypostyle hall of Es Lloc Nou (Alaior), the talayot of Rafal Roig (Es Mercadal) and the talayot of Torre Vella d’en Lozano (Ciutadella); as well as the Drill Hall of Santa Águeda Council (Ferreries).