Perhaps the aspect of Balearic archaeology which has drawn the most attention over the years, indeed the aspect which drew many historians to study the islands, is the presence of taulas on Menorca. Taulas, like the ones pictured on this and the next page, are monuments which consist of two huge slabs of stone. One slab is erected vertically (usually it is placed in in man-made notch in the bedrock) and the other sits horizontally atop the first. The verticle slabs always have two wide faces and two narrow ones, with at least one of the wide faces having been flatened artificially. Surrounding these monuments are large horseshoe shaped walls. Of the known taulas, all have their artificially flattened face aligned parallel to the open area of the horseshoe. It is not known whether these monuments had flat slabs of rock overhead to act as a partial roof, but it is generally accepted (due to the lack of any remaining "roof stones") that these facilities were open aired.

Currently, thirty taulas are thought to exist, but understably, many more may have existed. I say understandably because some taulas were probably removed by farmers over the past two thousand years who saw them as mere nuisances (not to mention easy-access quarries). What do these mysterious monuments represent? What was their purpose? The answers to these questions are highly debatable. Perhaps the mystery behind the taulas is why they remain popular attractions. On the next page I will present a one controversial theory as to the meaning behind the taulas and how it was arrived at. The theory, developed by Michaeol Hoskin (University of Cambridge), incorporates astronomical study with archaeology, and is now gaining widespread acceptance amongst prominent scholars.