A new Bronze Age burial chamber has been found at the Son Sunyer archaeological site.

PalmArchaeological work carried out at the Son Sunyer site (Pilarín, Palma) has confirmed the existence of a new hypogeum (a burial chamber carved into the rock) that could reveal more information about the burials of Mallorca's inhabitants during the Bronze Age. The discovery of the ninth burial cave on the estate could provide further insight into burial traditions, the construction of these structures, and the population buried there. This was explained on Thursday by Pau Sureda, a Ramón y Cajal researcher at the Institute of Heritage Sciences (Incipit) and head of the excavations, and Jordi Hernández, co-director of the work at Son Sunyer and researcher at the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICAC).

Since mid-October, the Incipit research group has been carrying out work at the Velar archaeological site (Santanyí), as well as in caves in the Lluc area (Escorca) and Son Sunyer. This Thursday, the first results obtained after three weeks of fieldwork were presented, aimed at deepening our understanding of the island's early metallurgy and the funerary systems used during the Bronze Age. Regarding the discovery of a new hypogeum in Son Sunyer, Hernández explained that, based on indications from last year's work and after surveys using ground-penetrating radar, the existence of this chamber has been confirmed. Although the hypogeum lacks its roof, it retains part of its walls and lateral materials. He added that they are now waiting to confirm whether it has been emptied.

As explained, the hypogea of Son Sunyer, like those throughout the island, suffered constant looting, and from the 16th century onwards, the very rock where they were excavated was used as a quarry for extracting sandstone blocks, leaving part of the underground structures exposed. In the 20th century, they were the subject of various interventions that culminated in the excavation of the archaeological deposits remaining from the looting in 1961.

In the intervention carried out in November 2024, excavations at the site resumed, and a new burial hypodeposit was discovered. The researcher explained that, in addition, the discovery of human remains allows for the reconstruction of what life was like for these prehistoric individuals, what their diet was, what their pathologies were, and even their genetic relationships. "Small pieces of information allow us to reconstruct the entire social sphere," he indicated.