Archaeological Site Taula i Talaiot de Trepucó

The prehistoric village of Trepucó is one of the large villages on the east of Minorca.  We know its buildings extended over an area of 5 hectares and that around the 5th century BCE it was surrounded by a Cyclopean wall, each section defended by square towers. Conserved today is the taula sanctuary and the large central talayot, which is more than 26 m in diameter and rises to a height of more than 8 m.

The archaeological site was excavated in the 1930s by British archaeologist Margaret Murray, with results that astounded the scientific world at the time. The settlement was probably destroyed during the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE) when General Magón (Hannibal's brother) took up residence in the port of Maó (the port and city most likely taking their name from this event), probably hoping to recruit native sling-wielding warriors called honderos to fight against the Romans in Italy.

In the late 18th century, the taula and the talayot were surrounded by a fortification shaped like a five-pointed star, built (1782) during the Spanish siege of the Castle of Sant Felipe, which was in British hands at the time. A lookout station and a cannon were put at the top of the talayot. This central part of the monument belongs to the Consell Insular de Minorca.

The whole ensemble is listed as a National Historical Monument (1931).