Mallorca dig finds 3,500-year-old bones near Palma
Mallorca’s Son Sunyer burial ground, in es Pil·larí near Palma, is yielding human bones and pottery thought to be around 3,500 years old. A team from the Spanish National Research Council recovered the finds during its October 2026 excavation. They also found evidence of child burials, giving researchers a chance to study how Bronze Age communities buried their dead.
Bones beneath medieval layers
The team is excavating a burial chamber cut into the rock. Researchers discovered it in 2024 and began digging there in 2025. Beneath layers left by medieval occupation, they have now found deposits from the burial ground’s prehistoric use.
The bones are scattered rather than lying together. Researchers think the dead may first have been placed on stone benches or in niches cut into the walls. Some remains may later have been moved to the centre to make room for new burials. That remains a theory.
Tests could tell more of their story
The team plans to use carbon-14 dating to establish when the burials took place more precisely. Tests on the bones could also reveal the people’s ages, illnesses, diets and genetic characteristics.
Son Sunyer has nine burial chambers cut into the rock. Later use damaged parts of the site, but some Bronze Age remains can still be studied in their archaeological setting. The current fieldwork is due to finish on Friday, 30 October.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com