The Prehistoric Temples of So na Caçana

The Heritage Revaluation Project

The Heritage Revaluation Project for the Prehistoric Temples of So na Caçana was presented for the first time at the II International Congress of Good Practices in Heritage celebrated in Mahón in 2015.

The tasks of this project are contained in four Action Programs that together form the Framework Project elaborated on the Revaluation of the mentioned deposit. These Action Programs are:

A) Physical Fitness, Cleaning, and Landscaping Program:

The tasks contemplated in it are carried out without the use of fossil fuels or machinery that produces acoustic pollution. Instead, the works are developed with manual tools and the support of domestic animals. It is also contemplated the reuse of the materials resulting from these cleanings and clearing (manure, stubble, ash, etc.) for the landscaping of the place.

B) Program of Value and Adequacy for the Visit.

One of the main objectives is the opening to the public. The visits, through personalized attention and information, signage and guides written in different languages, must contemplate a clear and passable space. Another objective is an economic one, since the volunteer donations provided by these same visitors are reinvested in the proper adaptation of the deposit. The visitors can access the site freely and throughout the year.

C) Archaeological and Heritage Research Program.

The archaeological research in So na Caçana is a basic engine in the implementation of this Project. With the development of successive excavations and the provision of International Courses in Archeology and Heritage, we not only intend to advance in the scientific knowledge of this deposit, but to make people from different social sectors to participate in this process.

D) Training, Information, and Dissemination Program.

However, this Project would have no meaning if the results obtained from its execution were not disseminated or used to expand the knowledge that we already have about The History of the Western Mediterranean. For this reason, we continuously seek to participate in scientific congresses, to give courses, lectures, and conferences, to celebrate and organize different cultural events and to spread these activities in social networks and in the different media.

TANYT & So na Caçana

In 2012, the Cultural Association TANYT, assumes the management of the deposit initiating the development of the mentioned program, in the way in which it has been possible, and thanks above all to the dedication and the voluntary work of its associates and sympathizers.

Association, Property, and Administration agreed in 2013 to commit themselves to support the candidature proposed by the Insular Council of Menorca to UNESCO for the declaration of the archaeological heritage of Menorca as a World Heritage Site by including the Sanctuaries of So na Caçana in the list of 32 archaeological sites selected as representative of this patrimonial wealth.

The Archaeological and Heritage Research Campaigns:

The archaeological excavations in So na Caçana that at the end of the s. XX made the Museum of Menorca were interrupted after 1987. Thirty years later, the Cultural Association TANYT, has managed the launch of new series of excavation campaigns. The first one has already been executed and it has had the participation of Specialists and Professionals of proven training from different universities and research centers (USC, UGR, UCA, CSIC-Incipit, University of Berlin). In the campaign, there have also been several students of Archeology and have also collaborated several volunteers of different origin (Spain, France, Germany, Ukraine, ..., etc.). All of them have been able to know directly the archaeological heritage, the Cultural and the Landscape of the wonderful island of Minorca.

The first of these excavations has been carried out not only as a continuation of the research work carried out by the Museum of Menorca thirty years ago, but as the start of a new research process in which a different study methodology and new technologies for the analysis of the archaeological record are taking place.

Immediate Objectives:

It is our purpose for the year 2017, to continue the work already begun. To try to reach the main objective that from the beginning we had set to ourselves: to make So na Caçana a recognizable worldwide reference point referring to the enjoyment, knowledge, study, and socialization of the rich Archaeological Heritage of Menorca.

To proceed with the Revaluation of the Archaeological and Cultural Heritage of Menorca with a valid and contrasted criterion, it is necessary to expand the areas to be studied and excavated. And that is also the purpose of your contribution.

More Information:

You can find more specific information (in Spanish, English, German, French, Italian, and Russian) about the site and about how to be a partner on the following link: www.sonacassana.jimdo.com

Links:

tanytac.wixsite.com/sonacassana
facebook.com/tanytmenorca