Friday, 30 July 2010 Català    Français    Deutsch    Castellano   Introduction Walking Refuges Dry-stone The Trade Retaining walls Walls Paths Dry-stone shelters Hydraulics Other Constructions Glossary Dry-stone's natural scenery Dry stone and naturals risks prevention Dry Stone in Europe Training Description Restauration Protection EU Projects Diffusion Virtual library Links News DRY-STONE WALLING IN MALLORCA Agriculture in Mallorca has been associated traditionally to dry-stone walling. The following are outstanding examples of this sort of construction: dry-stone enclosures, houses and stables, retaining walls, hydrologic structures, paths, pre-industrial mining and forest exploitation structures (charcoal, lime, hunting, etc). The landscapes covered by dry-stone construction are all over Mallorca, even though they are mostly present in two areas. In the south and the east of the island, both flat areas, the distinctive elements are the dry-stone walls, shelters and water-control structures. On the other hand, in the Tramuntana mountains the characteristic elements are retaining walls, which cover the fields, together with a network of dry-stone paths and water-regulation structures. The great development and variety of constructions is a result of both historic and physical factors. One of the most influencing physical factors is the predominance of calcareous stone, which is abundant and of great quality and facilitates the construction of complex structures. The rugged relief together with the possibility of intense rain led to the construction of structures to avoid erosion, flooding, etc and allow the sowing of the slopes thanks to the marjades or retaining walls. Moreover, the aridity in summer led to the construction of structures to collect, distribute and hold water. Regarding the historic factors, there was evidence already of dry-stone walling in the 13th and 14th century, although the main expansion took place on later centuries. On the whole, the growth in sown land and as a consequence in dry-stone walling lasted until the 20th century with several periods of additional growth. The first decades of the 20th century were the beginning of a progressive withdrawal from the least productive fields and from other economic activities associated to dry-stone structures. This process sped up in the 1960s with the arrival of mass tourism to the island. © Copyright 2003 Consell de Mallorca. All rights reserved. Privacy Notice.