The Port of Cala Ratjada, managed by PortsIB and under the protection of the Conselleria del Mar y del Ciclo del Agua, has been today the scene of a significant archaeological extraction. The operation, the fruit of the collaboration between the Consell de Mallorca and the Guardia Civil, has allowed the extraction of two ship cannons, pieces that will be analyzed and studied to determine their origin and age.
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The extraction of two ship’s cannons in the Port of Cala Ratjada
The recovered cannons, approximately 2.5 meters long and weighing an estimated 1,000 kilos each, are suspected to date from between the 18th and early 19th centuries. The exact provenance of these pieces is still a mystery, with possibilities ranging from Spain to Holland or France.
The operation has been carried out in the port area of the Port of Cala Ratjada, highlighting the participation of PortsIB in the logistics and coordination in the field. Representing the Conselleria del Mar y del Ciclo del Agua, Antoni Mercant, general director of Ports i Transport Marítim, was present at the operation, together with prominent authorities such as Llorenç Galmés, president of the Consell de Mallorca; Mireia Ferrer, mayoress of Capdepera; and the colonel of the Civil Guard in the Balearic Islands, Alejandro Hernández, underlining the synergy between the institutions involved.
The discovery of these archaeological pieces is not recent, being known for years, but it was in 2021 when the Underwater Activities Unit of the Civil Guard, G.E.A.S., conducted a specific dive that documented the presence of these two cannons, suggesting the possible existence of more remains in the area of Cala Gat.
Given the visibility and accessibility of the cannons on the sandbank, and in order to prevent looting, they have been extracted as a preventive measure. The cannons will be deposited in the Museum of Mallorca, where technicians specialized in the heritage of the insular institution will carry out their detailed study.