Alarm in Montuïri for the sale of the Sabor talayots: they could end up in private hands

MontuïriAfter learning of the news of the sale of the Sabor talayots in Montuïri, different alarms have been raised regarding this archaeological heritage of great value, located a few meters from the well-known Son Fornés settlement. Thus, the voices consulted by ARA Balears, after publicizing the news last weekend, opt for achieving public ownership of the settlement.

This is why Cristina Rihuete, director of the Son Fornés Archaeological Museum, has been the first to demand maximum protection for this settlement. "We were unaware of the sale of this settlement on the market. We know it and we know of its existence, moreover, it is very close to Son Fornés and next to the tower of the old talaiot known as the Bell of the Moors". Rihuete, who already experienced the acquisition of the Son Fornés estate at zero cost by the Montuïri City Council, asks for a similar solution. "At that time, the Son Fornés estate had about 300,000 m². The new owner segregated the entire extension of the settlement and transferred it to the City Council, which also obtained the houses of the possession without costing the municipality a single public euro".

Rihuete sees this option as the best solution, as she points out that "when administrations have to spend a lot of money to acquire a settlement, all this money does not go to tasks such as excavations or research on this complex. This is why what we see as ideal for the settlement would be to reach an agreement with the owner as was done at Son Fornés", she explains.

And he adds that "it is also important to bear in mind that Sabor is protected with the figure of BIC – Asset of Cultural Interest –, the highest there is and, therefore, the property must respect what heritage regulations say about its conservation and the obligation for it to be visitable".

For their part, on behalf of the Montuïri City Council, the mayor Toni Miralles has explained that "it would be ideal for these plots to be public and thus be able to preserve them. Although it already has BIC protection, being able to add this space to the Montuïri archaeological park could be very interesting".

Miralles also adds that for this reason "it would be necessary to have funding from supramunicipal institutions to be able to acquire it". "Having another archaeological site, in the long term, would allow us to know more about the prehistory of Montuïri", concludes the mayor.

Likewise, sources from the Consell de Mallorca have explained that it is up to the Montuïri City Council, if it deems it appropriate, to acquire this archaeological site. Maria Isabel Arnau, insular director of Heritage of the Consell de Mallorca, explains that "at the moment there is no open call for the acquisition of archaeological sites, as there has been in previous years. But, in any case, it would be the Montuïri City Council who would request its purchase".

At the same time, Arnau explains that "because it is BIC, this archaeological site already has protection that would prevent certain types of construction from being carried out on the site". At the same time, Arnau says that "there is a second option for the Montuïri City Council, which would be the right of preemption or first refusal on a possible purchase option by a private individual of this property".