A naviforme (initially, navetiforme) was a prehistoric boat-shaped house built on the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The

hut A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, clay, hid ...

-like buildings date to the Early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

or the Pretalayotic Period (ca. 2500–1200 B.C.). The building was generally large and had strong walls. It had dual functions for productive activities and living spaces. Examples of Naviformes are found in various villages but good examples have been excavated at Boquer, Sa Vall, and Son Mercer de Baix. The word naviforme originated from the building's resemblance to another prehistoric

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

n structure, the

naveta {{Short description, Megalithic tomb A naveta (also known as funerary naveta or burial naveta) is a form of megalithic chamber tomb unique to the Balearic Islands, Balearic island of Menorca. They were built during the Bronze Age, between the Pre ...

. Given the resemblance in their construction, the naviform was initially called a "navetiforme", a form of a "neveta", though, over time, the word was simplified to naviforme. When some are found together, it is difficult to distinguish between them, despite the naviforme being a home and the naveta being a tomb. Researchers believe that an extended family averaging 20 people could live in a naviforme.

Construction

Naviform were constructed of

dry stone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully ...

, using the cyclopean construction technique. A flat stone with a half-buried base underlies the first course of very large stones. They continue upwards with more stones that get much smaller. A cross-section of a wall consists of three parts: the outer wall with the largest stones, the inner wall, corresponding to the interior of the cabin, and between them a filling of earth and tiny stones. The two walls are tilted so that the wall thickness decreases with height and is supported with the filling materials between the two. Although very long, the building has a characteristic shape of a ship. Typical dimensions would be wide, to or long. The great thickness of its walls, averaging makes the useful space of the inner chamber small. Most ceilings were not preserved, but presumably, they were of natural material with a

pitched roof Roof pitch is the steepness of a roof expressed as a ratio of inch(es) rise per horizontal foot (or their metric equivalent), or as the angle in degrees its surface deviates from the horizontal. A flat roof has a pitch of zero in either inst ...

made of thick branches in the form of beams, and covered with branches, leaves and mud, all supported on a number of columns arranged along the longitudinal axis of the building. The only preserved ceiling is made of stone slabs, but it is not believed to be typical, as the fact of its being made of stone may have been the determining factor in its present-day existence. In many cases, there are several attached naviforms, forming groups of up to four. However, these correspond to buildings added at different times. Inside many of them can be found complex structures made of mud and flat tiles, placed horizontally and vertically, that served as a kitchen and storage room. Often found are small walls that divide the room into three or four smaller rooms. These are modifications of

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...

, as many of the huts remained in use for nearly two millennia. Its only entrance is on its flat end. Small holes were located in the ground opposite the entrance, forming a semicircle for a

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

. The entrance had a top slab functioning as a

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

, and another half buried in the ground which was the

threshold Threshold may refer to: Science Biology * Threshold (reference value) * Absolute threshold * Absolute threshold of hearing * Action potential * Aerobic threshold * Anaerobic threshold * Dark adaptation threshold * Epidemic threshold * Flicke ...

. Beneath this slab, it was common to find remains of a small fire from the ritual opening of the housing.

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline Megalithic monuments in Spain Archaeological sites in Spain Bronze Age Spain Prehistory of the Balearic Islands