Talayot of Torelló

This was likely one of the most extensive Talayotic settlements in what is today the municipal district of Maó, although it is highly deteriorated at present due to farming activities carried out primarily in the 1950s and 60s. These agricultural operations resulted in the destruction of a substantial part of the settlement, of which a Talayotic dwelling known as Torelló d’en Sintes remains in a good state of conservation. This structure was excavated by M. L. Serra in 1958. It has an apsidal shape, straight façade, and was built with a double-sided wall. Little is left from the southeast side, although the remaining portion of the dwelling includes part of the central courtyard, its surrounding rooms and the hearth in the northwest corner of the courtyard. This excavation brought to light a treasure of 300 Roman Asses from the period of the Roman Republic.
 
The great talayot of Torelló is the most spectacular and monumental on the island. It is truncated cone-shaped and built from relatively small stone blocks in comparison with other talayots from the same period. Its most characteristic feature is the portal with a monolithic lintel, still visible today near the top of the monument, along the entire wall that crowns the upper section of the structure with quite well chiselled stone, hence providing the talayot its highly characteristic profile and appearance. Archaeological excavations carried out in 1981 and 1982 revealed a circular room with a corridor on the upper platform that led to the linteled doorway. This structure was dramatically altered by the construction of the triangulation station that was built upon it. It is known that a room covered by stone slabs was in fact destroyed. The ceiling of this room would have been supported by large polylithic pillars, the remains of which emerged when removing part of the triangulation station.
Excavation of this enclosure revealed highly interesting archaeological materials, such as oil lamps from the Roman Empire and thin-walled ceramics, which according to Plantalamor (1991:293) suggests that the talayot’s upper section was likely used as a sanctuary during Roman times. 
 
When comparing old images from the early 20th century, we can observe that the southern section of the talayot shows another attached structure, which could mean that there is a similar structure present at the recently excavated Cornia Nou site.
 
To the southwest of the great talayot, a water catchment system consisting of two silos or cisterns was discovered, one of which shows two cavities dug out from the rock used for decanting and channelling. These cisterns also underwent archaeological excavation, leading to the discovery of a variety of ceramic materials (Iberian, Punic and Campanian).
 
There is also a smaller and more poorly conserved talayot not far from the larger one to its southwest, with a linteled portal and polylithic pillars.
 
In the late 19th century, a bronze figurine was unearthed quite near the talayot that depicts a warrior in an aggressive stance wearing a helmet. This piece is part of the Pons i Soler collection.
 
Documented on neighbouring estates are the remains of other structures that demonstrate just how large this settlement may have been at its peak. These include the foundations of dwellings and two artificial caves, or hypogea, in Torelló Vell. 
 
At Torellonet Nou, in the field known as Es Passatge, a coincidental discovery was made in the year 1971; an anthropomorphic tomb covered by a stone slab that still contained the remains of a human skeleton. Near this finding is a limestone quarry where the remains of a further 9 or 10 tombs can be observed.
On the Torelló de la Viuda estate, a bronze figurine that depicts a winged boar was found in the year 1833, which belonged to the Ramis i Ramis collection, later to the Vives Escudero collection, and is now in the custody of the Hispanic Society of America in New York. This piece was part of what was likely an Etruscan helmet (Graells, 2009).