An archaeological excavation in Mallorca has uncovered human remains and prehistoric objects dating back approximately 3,500 years, offering researchers a valuable opportunity to investigate how communities on the island buried their dead during the Bronze Age.

The discoveries were made at the Son Sunyer necropolis in es Pil·larí, within the municipality of Palma, during an excavation campaign carried out in October 2026 by a research team involving the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica (ICAC).

The work focused on an artificial burial cave known as hypogeum SSU9. Researchers documented human bones, prehistoric pottery and other archaeological materials associated with funerary practices. Evidence of child burials was also identified.

Of particular interest is the arrangement of the human remains inside the chamber. Their scattered and disarticulated condition has led researchers to propose a possible explanation for how the prehistoric community managed its collective burial spaces.

A Bronze Age burial chamber in Palma

Son Sunyer is a prehistoric necropolis consisting of nine artificial caves, known as hypogea, excavated into the rock. These structures were used as burial places during the Bronze Age, approximately 3,500 years ago.

The latest excavation concentrated on SSU9, a previously unknown hypogeum identified in 2024. Archaeological work began there in 2025 and continued during the October 2026 campaign.

The discovery is particularly important because many prehistoric burial caves in Mallorca have been disturbed, emptied or reused over the centuries. These changes have made it difficult for archaeologists to reconstruct how the spaces were originally used.

At Son Sunyer, however, researchers have been able to document prehistoric deposits beneath layers associated with later medieval occupation. Although the archaeological materials show some degree of disturbance, their context provides valuable information for understanding the original funerary use of the chamber.

Pau Sureda, a researcher at INCIPIT-CSIC and co-director of the excavation, has highlighted the importance of documenting Bronze Age remains in their archaeological context using modern excavation techniques.

Human bones, pottery and evidence of child burials

The excavation recovered human bone fragments, pieces of prehistoric pottery and other objects connected with funerary activity.

Researchers also identified evidence of child burials. This could help them investigate the composition of the communities that used the necropolis and whether different members of those communities participated in the same funerary traditions.

The remains have not yet provided all the answers. Further examination will be necessary to establish more precisely who was buried in the chamber and what can be learned about their lives.

The archaeological context is particularly valuable because it allows researchers to study not only the objects and bones themselves, but also their positions and relationships within the burial structure.

How were the dead buried 3,500 years ago?

One of the most interesting aspects of the excavation is the way the human bones were found distributed throughout the chamber.

Jordi Hernández, a researcher at the Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica and co-director of the excavation, explained that the bones appear scattered and disarticulated. This arrangement could be connected to the way successive burials were organised inside the hypogeum.

The researchers propose that bodies may initially have been placed on stone benches or inside niches excavated into the walls. At a later stage, some of the remains could have been moved towards the central area of the chamber to create space for new burials.

Under this interpretation, certain parts of the hypogeum may have served as places where the remains of previously buried individuals were kept.

This would suggest that the burial chamber was used collectively over time, with earlier remains being rearranged as new people were buried.

However, this remains a research hypothesis based on the archaeological evidence. Further study will be needed before the precise sequence of burial practices can be established.

An unusual niche discovered beneath a stone bench

The excavation also identified an architectural feature that has attracted particular attention: a niche located underneath one of the stone benches inside hypogeum SSU9.

According to the research information released by the CSIC, this arrangement differs from those more commonly observed in other known funerary structures in Mallorca.

The discovery adds to the understanding of how these prehistoric burial chambers were designed and organised. Son Sunyer's hypogea contain different architectural features, including chambers, corridors, stone benches and niches.

Studying these variations may help researchers understand how burial spaces were constructed and how their internal arrangements related to funerary practices.

What future scientific analysis could reveal

The recovered materials will now be studied through further archaeological and scientific analysis.

One important step will be radiocarbon dating, which should help establish a more precise chronology for the burials. Although the remains are currently estimated to be approximately 3,500 years old, researchers say further dating is needed to determine more accurately when the chamber was used.

Analysis of the human remains could also provide information about the age, health, possible diseases and diet of the individuals buried there. Genetic characteristics may also be investigated.

These studies could help researchers build a clearer picture of the people who lived in Mallorca during the Bronze Age and the communities to which they belonged.

At this stage, these are research possibilities rather than established findings. The results will depend on the analyses carried out after the excavation.

Son Sunyer: a prehistoric necropolis with a complex history

The Son Sunyer necropolis is located in es Pil·larí, near the former wetland landscape of the Pla de Sant Jordi in Palma.

Its nine artificial burial caves feature different architectural configurations, with some containing chambers, corridors, stone benches and niches.

The surrounding area would have looked very different during the Bronze Age. Researchers believe prehistoric communities may have distinguished between areas used for everyday habitation and those reserved for burial, although further archaeological work is needed to understand how the landscape was organised.

Son Sunyer was not used exclusively as a burial site throughout its history. Archaeologists have documented evidence of later activity, including materials associated with the Talayotic period and medieval occupation.

The site was also exploited as a marés stone quarry during the 16th and 17th centuries. The extraction of building stone damaged and partially destroyed some of the original underground structures, contributing to the archaeological alterations that make the site challenging to study.

A discovery that opens new research into Mallorca's prehistoric communities

The October 2026 excavation continues a programme of archaeological research at Son Sunyer that has been developed over several years, with work at the site dating back to 2020 and further investigation of the previously unknown SSU9 hypogeum from 2024 onwards.

The latest findings provide researchers with an opportunity to investigate Bronze Age funerary practices using archaeological evidence that has remained preserved beneath later deposits.

The human remains, pottery, evidence of child burials and unusual architectural features could all contribute to a better understanding of how prehistoric communities in Mallorca organised their burial spaces and cared for the remains of their dead.

Further dating and scientific analysis will be essential to establish what the discoveries can reveal about the people who lived on the island around 3,500 years ago.