Murder Mystery Resolvedred clay deposits in Talayotic structures
- Paul Goldberg 1
- Amalia Pérez-Juez 2
- 1 Institut für Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie (INA), University of Tübingen, Institut Menorquí d’Estudis
- 2 Boston University, Institut Menorquí d’Estudis
- Torres Gomariz, Octavio (coord.)
- Pérez-Juez Gil, Amalia (coord.)
Publisher: Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Arqueología y Patrimonio Histórico (INAPH) ; Universidad de Alicante / Universitat d'Alacant
ISBN: 978-84-1302-281-9
Year of publication: 2024
Pages: 225-241
Type: Book chapter
Abstract
The literary genre of the “locked room” appeared in the 19th century and soon became a fashionable fiction in which the reader was presented with all the clues to solve a crime that seemed impossible: how could an intruder have entered or left aclosed room, meanwhile succeeding to do away with the victim? This paper presents a modern locked-room mystery facing a complex question to answer – where do the archaeological deposits that fill the Postalayotic Cercles come from? The storyrevolves around a patterning of deposits we noticed in many Talayotic structures on the Island of Menorca (taulas included), particularly at the site of Torre d’en Galmés. As in the novels of this genre, there is an apparent impossibility of their having gotten there, while at the same time, we have all the clues to decipher themystery within the same deposits that we excavate.