Poblat talaiòtic de Sant Agustí Vell

Walk into the roofed building and look up. Stone slabs rest on beams of juniper wood, and the room keeps the dim, cool feel of an interior that has been closed over for a very long time. Most prehistoric buildings on the island stand open to the sky, so a ceiling is the detail people remember.

Around it, the walls of the village are built from big, roughly shaped blocks set without mortar, the way every talaiotic site on Menorca was built. The site is quiet and rural, and a board on the spot explains what stands where.

The Cova des Coloms, a large cave with its own information board, lies about 540 m away in a straight line, which makes the two an easy pairing for one outing.

• There are no toilets and no drinking water at the site or nearby. Bring water, and more of it in summer.
• An information board stands at the site and explains the remains.
• The nearest car park is about 950 m away in a straight line, so plan on a walk to reach the stones.
• Parking Bar Es Bruc, about 1.2 km away, is on grass.
• The Cova des Coloms lies about 540 m away and makes a natural second stop.

The approach comes from the Sant Tomàs side. By car, the nearest car park sits about 950 m from the site in a straight line; a second, Parking Bar Es Bruc, is a grass lot about 1.2 km away.

By bus, the nearest stops are Santo Tomas Vistamar, about 1.4 km away, and Lord Nelson, about 1.5 km away, both measured in a straight line.

From the car park or the bus, the rest is on foot, and the distance walked will be longer than those straight-line figures. There is no water along the way, so fill up before you set off.

Best: spring and autumn, in the early morning or late afternoon.

Avoid: the middle of the day in July and August.

The ruins stand in the open under the Mediterranean sun, there is no water nearby, and low light brings out the texture of the stone walls far better than the flat glare of noon.

Sant Agustí Vell is a protected archaeological site. Keep off the walls and the talaiot, do not move or take any stones, and leave the ground as you found it. The masonry is laid dry, without mortar, and blocks shift under the weight of anyone climbing on them.