Necrópolis Puig des Molins

The Necropolis is located on a hill inside the centre of the current city of Ibiza, not far from the historic centre. It is relatively close to Puig de Vila, because Phoenician cities did not keep much distance between areas of life and death.

Puig des Molins is the oldest and most important necropolis on Ibiza and the one that has given numerous and diverse materials. The most abundant elements are the Carthaginian hypogea, which consist of a rectangular access pit and underground chamber, generally square in shape. From the outside, only 350 or so are visible; however, the real number of tombs is estimated to be near 3000.

The necropolis features a long, complex time line that can be broken into ten phases, from the archaic Phoenician period (6th century BCE) to modern times. It is a very well conserved necropolis, considered the most important funerary ensemble in the Western Mediterranean. The archaeological zone covers 5 ha.

The visit to the necropolis is highly recommended, as are two other visits: a one to its museum inside the necropolis itself and the other to the archaeological museum in Dalt Vila. At the museum of Puig des Molins, unusual pieces and objects of cultural material help explain the evolution of the concept of death in Antiquity. In Dalt Vila, exhibits display archaeological remains from prehistory to the Catalonian conquest of 1235.

The name Puig des Molins (‘Windmill Mountain’) indicates that there used to be windmills atop this hill. They are recorded in documents from the 15th century and only the towers have survived to now. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1999).