18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Discoveries on the island of Minorca shed light on the history of Roman conquests in the Balearic Islands

The University of Alicante Institute for Archeology and Historical Heritage (INAPH) Researchs discovered a collection of buried Roman antiquities going back to 100 BC at the recent Catlar’s Menorcan excavation site.

The island of Menorca (Minorca) is one of Spain’s Balearic islands in the Mediterranean.

Fernando Prados, researcher, and director of the Modular Project: Phoenician-Punic Architecture at the Alicante University Archeology and Historical Heritage Research Institute (INAPH), briefed on the discoveries of the sixth season and said that they brought an “outstanding” collection to the Ciutadella Museum.

One year after being unable to excavate due to the COVID-19 pandemic, archaeologists have resumed work in the Crooked Gateway area. This kind of door is a characteristic of Punic culture, and it was used as a defense system to prevent possible siege by the Romans.

The discovery of this blind gate means a huge leap in Menorca’s historical knowledge. Excavation of the gate and the street leading to the gate led to the discovery of a material store buried above the ground. A large number of typical items carried by Roman soldiers were found: weapons, knives, three arrows, spearheads, projectiles, surgical tools, bronze spatula probes, etc.

The excavation area at the Son Catlar fortress where the Roman artifacts were discovered.                Source: University of Alicante
The excavation area at the Son Catlar fortress where the Roman artifacts were discovered. Photo: University of Alicante

Although finding this sort of material is not rare, it is unusual for it to be in such pristine shape.

Their location next to the Son Catlar gate is significant because it shows they were buried as talismans or good luck charms.

As Prados said, might be related to the mystical protective properties ascribed to it by the Romans when closing doors against bad spirits.

Roman artifacts like these pottery fragments were found in one area of the Son Catlar dig site. ( University of Alicante )
Roman artifacts like these pottery fragments were found in one area of the Son Catlar dig site. ( University of Alicante )

Roman soldiers were very superstitious and used to perform these rituals. At that time, the world of doors was full of magic. The Romans gave city gates a sacred value, and to completely seal a city gate would require certain magical actions.

According to the UA researcher, the conservation of the full perimeter of the wall at Son Catlar makes the site a source of considerable importance since it gives a great lot of opportunity for researching the archaeology of conflict and war.

The Modular Project’s research program on the island is supported financially by the Menorca government, INAPH, and the Cap Blanch campground, as well as logistically by the Ciutadella municipal council and the Mart I Bella Historical-Archaeological Association.

Between the first century BC and the first millennium AD, the Romans were one of many foreign empires and kingdoms that conquered the Balearic island nations, including Menorca.

Related Articles

Amarna’s Hidden Chapter: From Abandoned Pharaoh’s City to Christian Monastic Hub

26 June 2025

26 June 2025

New archaeological findings have reshaped our understanding of Amarna, the once-glorious capital of ancient Egypt founded by Pharaoh Akhenaten in...

Archaeologists identify a sunken Nabataean temple dedicated to the God Dusares at Pozzuoli

12 April 2023

12 April 2023

Off the coast of Pozzuoli on the Phlegrean Peninsula in Campania, Italy, underwater archaeologists have identified a sunken Nabataeans temple...

A basement discovered on the premises of the ruins of Hitoyoshi Castle in Japan could be a Jewish bathing facility!

7 December 2022

7 December 2022

Experts are still indecisive about why there was a bathing area in the basement which was discovered on the site...

Burials covered in red dye discovered in Serbian barrows

18 February 2022

18 February 2022

Polish archaeologists excavating two barrow mounds in Vojvodina, in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia, have uncovered the...

Researchers excavating the burial site along Caleta Vítor Bay in northern Chile found an Inka Tunic or unku

15 February 2023

15 February 2023

A recently published study, co-authored by a research professor at George Washington University, looks at the Inka Empire’s (also known...

Remnants of ancient fire temple discovered in heart of Alborz mountains in Iran

26 June 2021

26 June 2021

An Iranian archaeology team has discovered relics of an ancient fire temple in Savadkuh county, located in the center of...

Greek Warrior Relief Found in Bulgaria

2 April 2021

2 April 2021

In Sozopol, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, a piece of terracotta relief depicting ancient Greek warriors has been discovered....

Statue heads of “Aphrodite” and “Dionysus” were found in Aizanoi Ancient City in Turkey’s

30 October 2021

30 October 2021

The statue heads of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, and Dionysus, the god of wine, were unearthed in...

Archaeologists find new clues about North Carolina’s ‘Lost Colony’ from the 16th century

11 May 2024

11 May 2024

Archaeologists from The First Colony Foundation have yielded a tantalizing clue about the fate of the Lost Colony, the settlers...

The first time in Anatolia, a legionnaires’ cemetery belonging to the Roman Empire unearthed

18 November 2022

18 November 2022

In the ancient city of Satala, in the Kelkit district of Gümüşhane in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey,...

Rare bronze hand discovered in Roman Vindolanda, England

11 July 2023

11 July 2023

One of Europe’s most important Roman archeological sites is the Fort of Vindolanda, one of the earliest Roman garrisons built...

Ceremonial meals may have been served in the 4500-year-old structure unearthed in the Yumuktepe Höyük in Southern Turkey

3 November 2021

3 November 2021

A 4,500-year-old structure containing a jar, many pots, and food fossils has been unearthed at the Yumuktepe Höyük (mound) in...

Earliest evidence of forest management discovered at the La Draga Neolithic site in Spain

19 July 2023

19 July 2023

Archaeologists have discovered the earliest evidence of forest management at the La Draga Neolithic site in northeastern Spain. A scientific...

A Nymphaeum was discovered in the ancient Thracian city of Perperikon

18 August 2023

18 August 2023

New researchs uncovered a huge monumental sanctuary of water (Nymphaeum) above the reservoir in the southern quarter of Perperikon. Professor...

Votive Altar Dedicated to Basque Deity Larrahe Found in Medieval Well

23 June 2024

23 June 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman-era votive altar dedicated to the ancient Basque deity Larrahe at the medieval monastery of Doneztebe...