The Talayotic Menorca Agency and Nurarq are organising three guided visits to the west taula enclosure of So na Caçana on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of December, when a very special archaeo-astronomical event will take place that could indicate that the sun was one of the divinities of the Talayotic pantheon. The activity will recreate the original internal environment of the sanctuary, during the midday of the winter solstice. Due to the small size of the site, the number of participants is limited and tickets will be allocated by lottery. The deadline for participation begins on December 5 and ends on December 12.
On these dates, the sun's rays enter the building through a small window and illuminate a special place inside this taula enclosure where the figures of the divinities were located. For the Menorcans of the Talayotic period, this would represent a hierophany. In other words, the sun was one of the main divinities of the Talayotic pantheon and the penetration of its rays into the taula enclosure represented a manifestation of this divine entity.
Once the participants enter the taula enclosure, a detailed explanation of the phenomenon will be given, and its development will be observed with the accompaniment of one of the members of the team that discovered and documented this event. They will also explain what a taula enclosure is, what rituals have been documented inside it and the latest research and hypotheses on the symbolic world of the late Talayotic period.
During the course of the activity, we will have the opportunity to taste the winning dessert of the "El dolç talaiòtic" competition, inspired by the natural environment of Talayotic Menorca.
Scientific study
Earlier this year a team of researchers from Menorca published a
scientific article on this phenomenon in Spal. Revista de Historia y Arqueología, of the University of Seville. The study describes this archaeoastronomical event in the western taula enclosure of So na Caçana, a phenomenon that had not been detected until now.
The authors of this study are Irene Riudavets González (PhD student at the University of Barcelona/Nurarq SC/Institut Menorquí d'Estudis), Antoni Ferrer Rotger (director of the Menorca Talayotic Agency), Sebastià Barceló Forteza (Dept. of Theoretical Physics and Cosmology of Menorca) and Sebastià Barceló Forteza (Dept. of Theoretical Physics and Cosmology of Menorca). de Física Teórica y Cosmología de la Universidad de Granada), Gerard Remolins Zamora (Università di Bari/ReGiraRocs SLU), Antoni Cladera Barceló (PhotoPills SL) and Cristina Bravo Asensio (Institut Menorquí d'Estudis/Nurarq SC).
The phenomenon was recorded by photographer Antoni Cladera:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bO4HPCFiwE
How to participate in the draw
Tickets to attend the So na Caçana archaeoastronomical event will be allocated in a raffle open to all citizens. Those interested in participating should send an e-mail to
solsticitalaiotic@gmail.com indicating the day they would like to attend the activity and explaining very briefly the reason for doing so. The
deadline for participation begins on December 5 and ends on December 12 at midnight.
Only one participation request per person will be accepted and each winner will have two tickets.
Important: applications that do not indicate date and reason will not be entered into the draw.
The draw will be made in a public ceremony at the headquarters of the Consell Insular de Menorca, at Plaza Biosfera, 5, on December 13 at 12 p.m. There will be three separate draws, one for each day.
Each participant will be assigned a number which will be communicated by e-mail. If a winner is unable to attend, the next person on the draw list will be notified.