The dolmen of Ses Roques Llises is a dolmenic-style collective sepulchre and one of the oldest known constructions in all of Menorca, erected in around 2000 BC. It is part of the Torre d’en Galmés archaeological area and includes a corridor delimited by stone slabs (only the left side slab still exists), a rectangular chamber accessed through a perforated stone slab and the remains of a tumulus (which likely covered the entire tomb) that enveloped the structure.
Schedule: Saturdays from 9 am to 7 pm
Price: Free
Open: Yes
Access: Access is along the road from Alaior to Son Bou. At km 2.2, turn left onto a country road and continue 1.3 km until the settlement of Torre d’en Galmés. Park here and walk 1 km along the Torre Nova trail, until reaching a gate that leads to the plot where the Na Comerma de Sa Garita and the megalithic sepulchre of Ses Roques Llises are found.
Car Park: At Torre d’en Galmés
Guided tours: Visitor information panels are posted.
Contact:
Services: No
Access for individuals with reduced mobility: No
More information See map
More information: The dolmen is a burial structure built from large stone slabs that form a rectangular chamber. Access is through a small corridor delimited by stone slabs, one of which is missing. A hole was made in the façade’s slab to move the dead into the corridor toward the chamber. The structure is completed with a surrounding circular wall, which most likely was part of the earthen tumulus that originally covered the tomb.
When the dolmen was excavated in 1974, it was covered fully by wild olive trees and bushes that contributed to its degradation. The structure was relatively intact, but of the four stone slabs that covered the chamber, only three remained, although broken and fallen into the tomb’s interior.
Inside the sepulchre, the remains of ceramic grave goods that accompanied the deceased during burial were found, as well as the remains of other objects made of stone (archer’s bracers), bone (V-shaped perforated buttons) and metal (a copper blade). The discovered human remains were highly degraded due to the conditions of the sediment around them, hindering any accurate anthropological study. Nevertheless, we do know that these types of sepulchres were used to continually bury the deceased of a family or small community over periods of time that could be rather extensive. This explains why in similar structures that have been discovered, the remains of as many as 100 individuals have been found. As the corpses decomposed, the older bones were pushed toward the back or the sides of the chamber to make room for the more recently deceased.