The Talayotic settlement of Biniaiet Vell/Sant Vicenç d'Alcaidús is divided between two different agricultural estates. J. Ramis y Ramis made it known in 1818 as one of the largest and best preserved settlements in Menorca, but between 1917 and 1918 a huge part of the remains were destroyed to use the stone for the renovation and repair of the main road of Menorca, making it an example of the destruction suffered by the island's archaeological vestiges in recent centuries.
The highlights of the visit are the setting and the impressive views that can be enjoyed from its two talayots (there was a third one that was destroyed in the work on the main road) and the large number of pilasters that are still standing. This part, located at the top of the hill, belongs to Biniaiet Vell.
Below the hill there is a monumental complex of four circles attached to each other with a hypostyle hall at its western end. During the visit we can also find the remains of another circle, two Roman rooms and a small hypogeum with a simple floor plan. This area is part of the Sant Vicenç d'Alcaidús estate.
Schedule: Open access
Price: Free
Open: Yes
Access: There is an asphalted road at km 6 of the Me-1 motorway. It is not signposted.
Car Park: Yes
Guided tours: No
Contact:
Services: No
Access for individuals with reduced mobility: No
More information See map
More information:
From the car park there is a small path that goes up a crag where there’s an access to the interior of a circle that conserves large stone pillars and a doorway, which is somewhat hidden by the vegetation. This house is the first one you come across on the way to the top, where there’s a very degraded talayot. The access is through a modern passageway and from the top we can enjoy spectacular views over almost the entire town of Maó and a good part of Alaior. Around the talayot you can see large amounts of rubble that possibly hides ancient structures, perhaps a taula enclosure, as it is strange that such a large settlement did not have one. However, until archaeological excavations are carried out, this fact cannot be confirmed.
In 1916, the upper part of the hill was the object of an archaeological excavation directed by A. Vives Escudero and F. Hernández Sanz, which was financed by the Spanish government. Some of the materials from this intervention can be seen today in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid. They excavated part of a group of Talayotic houses, attached to each other.
As for the circles at the bottom of the hill, it was their excavation between 1958 and 1966 that allowed Mª Lluïsa Serra to discover that these circular constructions of the Talayotic settlements were in fact dwellings, which hence explains their abundance. There are usually many circles in each settlement, very similar to each other, and evidence has been found of everyday tasks such as cooking, eating, weaving, sleeping...
In this area we find a group of four circles attached to each other, with their corresponding exterior courtyards. These houses are circular or quadrangular in shape with rounded corners. They have a central courtyard, which gives access to the rooms arranged radially around it. They have a semicircular cooking area at the northeast end of the courtyard. They make up the northern limit of the settlement, seeming to serve as a virtual outer wall or fortification.
Another highlight are the Roman remains of an ex novo building (typically during Roman times, Talayotic settlements were reused and the interiors restructured), whose use is unknown. Beside this structure we find another one, which includes the remains of a production area with a pit used for the storage of liquids covered with mortar, also from the Roman period.