Ses Paisses, is located in the northeast of Mallorca and, together with Capocorb Vell, is one of the best known and most visited Talaiotic sites on Mallorca. The site, just outside Artà, is a fairly well preserved example of a village centre with a central round tower and a still almost intact enclosure wall of around 400 metres. You enter the site through a gate made of gigantic stone blocks built into the wall, which is still impressive today.
The construction of the central tower could be determined to the year 1,300 BC. The enclosure wall with its original four gates was built between 1,000 and 800 BC. The rectangular buildings were constructed in the final period of the Talaiotic period, around 500 to 100 BC. With the beginning of the romanisation of Mallorca, Ses Paises was abandoned. In the living quarters, the archaeologists found a great deal of household utensils in the form of pottery and many other pieces of evidence that allowed them to clearly determine the period of occupation of Ses Paisses. Graves, such as a cremation burial with the remains of a bronze helmet, were also found within the village wall.
One of the most interesting discoveries, however, is certainly one of the fireplaces. Whereas in the other talaiotes on the island they were usually in the middle of the room, here they were moved to the wall, with a large pot to store the embers. This is an example of how proven techniques can be preserved over thousands of years. Even today, the old rustic fincas on Mallorca still have the so-called "cendrer", an open fireplace where the slightly glowing remains of wood are kept separately under a layer of ashes so that the fire can be rekindled from the embers later.
