Torre Llisa Vell Taula View all content for Torre Llisa Vell

If you have copy of The Megalithic European and turn to pages 320 and 321, you'll see a double page spread on a site called Torre Llisa Vell. Don't be misled! What Julian is actually describing in this spread is the nearby So Na Caçana. So get yourself a pen, and retitle the page now! In fact, the 'real' Torre Llisa Vell isn't included in TME. Which is a shame, as it's an all-singing, all-dancing taula sanctuary with talaiot. It is just a couple of fields away from So Na Caçana. To find it, continue up the road from So Na Caçana towards Alaoir for about 1km at the most, until you reach a minor crossroads. Turn left here and drive 300ms until you see a gate on the left to a farm called Torre Llisa Vell. Walk down this lane for 100ms and ask the friendly old man at the farmhouse on the right for permission and directions. He doesn't speak English, but Moth got the gist. By now you will have already sussed that the great tree-covered lump on your left is an overgrown talaoit and if you look carefully, you'll see the crest of what looks like a naveta beneath it on the northern side. Walk about 10 ms past the farmhouse and then turn left. After only a few metres the track enters an open field, but to the left is another short track only a few metres long. At the end and you'll see a gate and a break in the on the right. Go up towards the gate and through the break in the wall. Can't you already smell it? Walk 25 metres through long grass and a few trees until to th left, you see a huge wall with an archway. You'll find the taula through that archway. The wall enclosing the taula sanctuary is very complete indeed – I have no idea if it has been restored or not, it certainly didn't look like it to me. It conforms to the standard ground plan of a horseshoe-shaped area with a slightly concave front entrance wall. In the case of Torre Llisa Vell the entrance is a beautiful corbelled arch through the wall which is an amazing 4ms thick. True! Given that the entire sanctuary measures only – what? – 12ms in total, these walls seem totally out of proportion. They are also maybe 3ms high, so whatever went on within the sanctuary was not for general viewing. I also noted that the entrance passageway through the wall wouldn't have allowed the entry of a fully grown bull. At least not a modern bull. P'raps they were smaller then, or they only sacrificed calves? The T itself is a chunky beast and completely dominates the internal space. The stone forming the top of the T being thicker, heavier and wider in proportion with the vertical stone than at any other taula we saw. From the top of the wall, you could see the poblat of So Na Caçana lying directly south, just about 400-500ms away. This is a truly resplendent monument! We were both completely blown away and so sorry that Julian missed it.

Posted by Jane 30th July 2007ce

Comments (1)
Hi Jane, I first visited this taula in about 1969. There is some argument among the islanders as to whether the thick wall around the Taula is original or not. Personally I think the corbelled doorway is ancient, but my Menorquin friend is unsure. It's a lovely little site and I am very pleased you got to see it. There is also controversy about whether these places ever had a roof or not. At some sites the side pilasters seem about the same height, so maybe there was a wooden structure sitting on top.	Posted by Whoop_John 19th July 2012ce
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