 Ses Paisses
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.. - More prosaic: superimposed signboards (not all plumb line upright)
|  Capdepera, the new Lidl
You can say a lot about Lidl but they keep the 'tenemos' (temple precinct) concept alive. Not sure about the most appropriate Spanish word to describe this kind of enclosure fence: tabique, estacado, recinto, barandilla?
|  Capdepera , the new Lidl
|  Capdepera, the new Lidl
'Que barat!'. The dropped 'o' makes all the difference. Food prices are comparatively high. Some same chain store differences might be explained as deferred and anticipated price hikes. Italian pasta (noodles), 500gr, were still at 29 cent. - With that out of the way there might still be time to take the road less traveled. (I was the only visitor that morning.)
|  Ses Paisses
the official plaque
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 Ses Paisses
Floor plan with chronological coloring. Main point, the central 'talaiot' (most likely the Balearic equivalent of Castilian 'atalaya' =watchtower) is a few centuries older than the enclosure. Unclear if the clan 'mizpah' in question was originally surrounded by daubed and wattled hovels.
|  Ses Paisses
the Llobera monolith. It is not clear if the monolith was erected in honor of Llobera or if an existing monolith was rededicated. The heroic deeds and misdeeds in Lloberas high Wagnerian poem (an opera version followed) take place in prehistoric Ses Païsses and some of the neighboring caves. Shortform: Caliban against the Apollonic spirit (with love angle). - Backdrop, a grove of helm oaks.
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The main gate of the cyclopean perimeter wall. Saved from souvenir hunters by sheer size. (Try to fit the lintel in an overhead baggage rack.) It is no clear how it was closed. Scriptural parallel with cave tombs would suggest a sealing rock. The poor rock roller would have to climb over the wall afterwards. And woe to the guy who forgot to retract the Jacob's ladder. A thorn bush filling plus inflammable substances if you are very lazy. - The stone 'mortise' in the right door jamb is tool made.
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panning the East wall
|  Ses Paisses
the narrow gate way
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 Ses Paisses
Median threshold rutting. Those Talaiotic settlers must all have been passionate unicycle riders.
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Acorn loaded helm oak branch. Also holly oak. The leaves of the young shoots are rather toothed. Evergreen.
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And no, I do not know a good Talaiotic recipe for acorn cake. (The only problem probably the high content in tannin. Comes with oakhood.)
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dead branches draped with foliose lichens
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 Ses Paisses
more lichen dream shape - only thing missing is a shohooing owl
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the flail men are coming
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Cuttlefish and octopus shape. Apothecia make good eye sockets, the rest of the thallus may serve as cuttlebone.
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Approaching the central talaiot. The Southern apron of rectangular rooms.
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 Ses Paisses
Rim view of the talaiot
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A debris filled corridor trench bisects the floor of the talaiot.
|  Ses Paisses, aldermen room
The aldermen room next to the talaiot. Hypostyle hall if you want to hedge your bets. It is the most elaborate of all the rooms and comes with 3 free standing columns and six wall pilasters.
|  Ses Paisses, aldermen room
|  Ses Paisses, aldermen room
Wall pilaster. The roofing must have weight tons. (The Maya word for column could have been upright alligator.)
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 Ses Paisses, aldermen room
Rubber boots are optional. (Ghost voice: as easy as selling mosquito nets to the natives.)
|  Ses Paisses, aldermen room
central pillar
|  Ses Paisses, aldermen room
Finding column rocks with suitable plane parallel surfaces is not always easy. Small cheat slabs may help. The concrete sealing of the previous column is recent.
|  Ses Paisses , aldermen room
Could be one of the ends of the drench corridor through the central talaiot. Take away the surrounding wall and you will have a free standing portal dolmen.
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propped up wall
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 Ses Paisses
Apsidal room, West
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The local carp pond. The plinth for the central column is only partially submersed. A fan shaped arrangement of rafters would have offered itself. The resulting triangular surfaces highly unsuitable for terracotta tiling. Will have taken Roman ingenuity to straighten things out. Local production of pottery is attested since 2000 BC.
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Looks like any other building lot after a thunderstorm.
|  Ses Paisses
Cave in. In any case choked with rubble. One of the two NW gates.
|  Ses Paisses
'Skull rock'. Practically all surface rock of the Balearic island was once coastline. Some imprinting by abrasive action could be justly described as 'art pour l'art'. Some may suggest some secondary usage as flagpole socket. Before the age of tin can hinges.
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 Ses Paisses
Dragon skull with empty eye socket.
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Natural or enhanced?
|  Ses Paisses
Square rock with flaked off edges. Hardly ancient. Purpose unclear.
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Preformatted rock. Natural fissure lines will make the work of the stone mason somewhat easier.
|  Ses Paisses, rectangular room
The large rectangular room South of the talaiot. Central column and corner niche. The wall safe is obviously long gone. Maybe some leftover spell scrolls.
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