Today saw the close of the 2022 season at Sa Mitja Lluna, the Bronze Age copper mine located on the Illa d’en Colom island. This is a particularly unusual site, containing no spectacular constructions such as talayots or navetas. It has nonetheless become
one of the most significant Menorcan sites in the European scientific sphere because of its exceptional state of conservation, thanks to the absence of any substantial mine workings from later periods.
New radiocarbon dating has served to confirm that the mine
was in use between approximately 1800 BC and 900 BC. Which means that the ancient inhabitants of Menorca were digging copper ores (malachite, azurite, chalcopyrite) from the mine for some 900 years. Generation upon generation of the population of Menorca must have worked at Sa Mitja Lluna, probably not continuously, but as temporary labour fitted in between other work in the fields at different times of the year.
Sixth season
This is the
sixth season since the site was discovered, headed by the archaeologists Laura Perelló, Bartomeu Llull and María Calderón (ArqueoUIB group, University of the Balearic Islands) and Mark Hunt (University of Seville). They conducted their work with the permission of the agency that manages the s'Albufera des Grau nature park, and the current owner of the island, the doctor and businessman Víctor Madera, from Asturias, along with funding support from the Island Council of Menorca.
The researchers established from the outset that the mine had two separate operational areas. There has clearly been greater movement of material in the northern zone. The work in this area of the site revealed the existence of a trench dug into the rock, probably following a seam of copper running more or less parallel to the cliffs, in a north-south direction. Eye-opening discoveries should not be ruled out in future excavations, such as wells or shafts dug by the ancient miners.
Southern area of the mine
This year, the archaeologists focused their efforts on excavating the southern area, where they found a considerable amount of pottery and traces of fire. Although no hearths or other types of combustion structure came to light, the remains indicate that this area was used for other work indirectly connected with mining operations, and that they may have cooked and selected the minerals here. Until recently, only the results of mining work per se had been seen, but the Sa Mitja Lluna researchers are certain that the
study and analysis of the material uncovered in the southern area during the current season will offer vital information, giving us a somewhat better insight into the people who made use of the mine, traces that are seldom found at other prehistoric mining sites.
The most notable archaeological materials recovered include lithic tools. From small mortars used to crush and select the mineral, to large mining mallets to break the rock containing the veins of ore. There are of many sizes, depending on the task for which they were used, some of them weighing as much as 16 kg.
Copper ore was essential in the Bronze Age to produce metal instruments, although its symbolic value was undoubtedly even more important. An analysis of provenance and distribution by means of lead isotopes has served to suggest possible connections between the minerals from Illa d'En Colom and metals buried at funereal sites of Menorca of a similar period. Studies conducted on metal items on other islands of the Balearic archipelago also indicate links to the ores of Menorca. This reflects the
considerable movement of objects and people which took place during the Bronze Age.