Pre-Talayotic caves of Sant Vicenç

Parks and Nature | Pollença

They are located to the right of the road, at the entrance of the urbanized nucleus of Cala Sant Vicenç. They have been known for several centuries, since Joan B. Binimelis already speaks of them in his History of Mallorca of 1593, in which he affirms that "they denote to have been the habitation of giants". In 1927, Wilfred Hemp invented a total of 13 caves, but currently only 7 are preserved, since they have been plundered and reused since their discovery. Cristòfol Veny divided them into simple caves, for habitation, and complex caves, for burial. Despite this hypothesis, it seems more plausible that they were all part of the same necropolis from the Middle Bronze Age (around 1600 BC), in an area that probably had sacred and ritual value. The site where the necropolis is located is a Quaternary sediment, easily excavated, different from the rest of the territory. Six of the seven caves are aligned at the foot of a natural step near the path that leads there from the entrance to the site. The seventh cave is located on the other side of the road, in front of the third cave. The first cave (no. 6 of Hemp) has neither vestibule nor passageway, since they have been destroyed. In front of the access, there are signs of the existence of a kind of courtyard that must have been part of the complex. The interior has a length of about 12 m and, at the bottom, has an apse closed by an apsidiole or niche. Inside, a bétilo idol (cylindrical stone considered sacred) was found, which is the only representation of this type found in Mallorca. The second cavity (No. 7 of Hemp), one of the best preserved, also presents the remains of an entrance courtyard, with a quadrangular hole. The doorway is one meter high by half a meter wide, and gives access to the antechamber, followed by the main chamber, which has an entrance with a curved lintel, with samples of grooves or closing marks, and has a bench and central trench, as well as apsidia or niches in the apse and the sides. Fragments of bone pieces, known as buttons, with a V-shaped perforation, were found. The third cave has lost the front part and preserves a central bench and two lateral niches and one apsidal niche. The fourth cave has an access with carved rock and an antechamber and chamber, with a lateral bench and three niches. The fifth cave has a different floor plan, circular, with a large entrance and, on the roof, a hole with a closing slab.