New data from fortified coastal settlement of Cap de Forma, Maó-Menorca (Balearic Islands)

Abstract

This article presents new radiometric data from archaeological layers of the inhabited structures adjacent to the cyclopean monument of Cap de Forma (Mahon, Menorca). The archaeological site is located on a narrow isthmus that links a 30-m-high coastal promontory to the mainland. It is next to an excellent natural harbor on the south coast of the island. The protohistorical complex consists of a cyclopean monument surrounded by a necropolis of rock-cut tombs (cuevas) that are dug into the cliff. The monument is an atypical example of Talayotic architecture. The excavations carried out since 1997 have discovered three living spaces. These lean against the southern wall of the cyclopean structure. The artifacts are almost all part of a chronological horizon that corresponds to the beginning of the Talayotic period. This study uses radiometric data to help interpret the recent findings from the three living spaces that flank the wall of the central monument.