Architecture as regenerator
Introduction
The taula is, in archaeology, a type of construction from the Talayotic culture, exclusive to the island of Menorca (Spain).
The name Taula refers to the central element of the T-shaped enclosure, and owes its name to the similarity it has with a table, since this is what it means in Catalan. This central element is built with two large stones placed one on top of the other, the vertical one is called the support stone and the horizontal one is called the capital stone.
These enclosures are documented in most of the large Talayotic towns around 600 BC. C. and some remained in use until Roman times. Contrary to what happens with the Talayots, only one Taula enclosure appears per town.
The first author to deal with these structures was Juan Ramis, in 1818, in his work Celtic Antiquities of the Island of Menorca, which is the first book in Spanish entirely dedicated to prehistory.
Description of the venue
The taula enclosure is an apsidal building with a generally concave façade with an entrance in the middle and built following the Cyclopean technique. The perimeter wall is double-faced and along its interior face there is a series of attached pillars that mark what some researchers have called "chapels". It is a building that seems to maintain a standardized model throughout the Menorcan territory although differences in size, morphology of the taula, etc. can be found.
Cultural objects found within the premises
Researchers seem to agree on the religious function of this type of enclosures and this seems to be confirmed by the fact that they have found different figurines and cultural elements in various enclosures.
The first thing to highlight are some of the bronze figurines such as the Imhotep from Torre d'en Galmés[1][2] or the bull from Torralba.[3] Other notable objects are the cauldrons with a female face representing divinities such as Tanit or Demeter that have been found in various enclosures, such as those of Torralba,[4] Biniparratx Petit,[5] Sa Torreta de Tramuntana, Son Catlar, etc.
Lastly, we must mention the discovery of three epigraphs with three theonyms documented in the Son Catlar enclosure, these are three local inscriptions where the divinities Baal (supreme Punic deity), Caelestis (Latinization of Tanit) and Lacese (god of the full moon) appear.[6].