The talaiots, or talayots, are Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

 megalith

Megalith

A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient...

s on the islands of Minorca

Minorca

Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....

 and Majorca forming part of the Talaiotic Culture

Talaiotic Culture

The Talaiotic Culture or Talaiotic Period is the name used to describe the society that existed on the Gymnesian Islands during the Iron Age. Its origins date from the end of the second millennium BC, when the inaccurately named Pre-Talaiotic Culture underwent a crisis and evolved into the...

 or Talaiotic Period. They date from the late second millennium and early first millennium BC. There are at least 274 of them, in, near, or related to Talaiotic settlements and Talaiotic navetes

Naveta

A naveta is a megalithic chamber tomb unique to the Balearic island of Minorca. It dates to the early Bronze Age.It has two vertical and two corbelled walls giving it the form of an upturned boat which is where the name comes from....

. While some certainly had a defensive purpose, the purpose of others is not clearly understood. Some believe them to have served the purpose of lookout or signalling towers, as on Menorca, where they form a network. These monuments pre-date the taulas

Taula

A taula is a T-shaped stone monument found on the Balearic island of Minorca. Taulas can be up to 3.7 metres high and consist of a vertical pillar with a horizontal stone lying on it...

, which are usually found nearby.

Similar but not necessarily related are the "nuraghes

Nuraghe

The nuraghe is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture, the Nuragic civilization...

" of Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

, the "torre

Torre

Torre means tower in six Romance languages and may refer to:- Biology :* Muir-Torre syndrome, the inherited cancer syndrome...

" of Corsica

Corsica

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....

, and the "sesi" of Pantelleria

Pantelleria

Pantelleria , the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and just east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani...

.
Talaiotic sites include:

• Capocorb Vell, 12km south of Llucmajor
  Llucmajor
  Llucmajor is the largest municipality of the Balearic Island Majorca.There are sixteen towns in the district, including the town of Llucmajor and parts of s'Arenal, Cala Blava and Cala Pí.- Towns in the district :...
  
  : five talaiots and ancient village
• Ses Païsses
  Ses Païsses
  Ses Païsses is a Bronze Age talayotic settlement on the southeastern outskirts of Artà in northwestern Majorca. It is one of the most important and best-preserved prehistoric sites in the Balearic Islands, although it is largely overgrown with woodland, mainly Quercus ilex , making it impossible to...
  
  , near Artà
  Artà
  Artà is one of the 53 independent municipalities on the Spanish Balearic island of Majorca. The small town of the same name is the administrative seat of this municipality in the region of Llevant.- Population :...
  
  , Majorca
• Son Olesa dolmen
  Dolmen
  A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
  
  , Majorca, discovered in 1999 http://www.briegull.com/waldren/waldren2/sonoleza.html
• Talatí de Dalt, Minorca
• Trebalúger, Minorca
• Es Trepucó, Minorca
• Torre d'en Galmés
  Torre d'en Galmés
  Torre d'en Galmés is a Talayotic site on the island of Minorca, between Alaior and Son Bou, Minorca. The town developed from the start of the Talayotic era and expanded until the end of the Roman occupation, after which it was abandoned...
  
  , Minorca

External links

• Guide to Minorca: Prehistory