Potable water as critical resource in antiquity and a warning for the development of the island of mallorca

Abstract

Mallorca is the largest of Balearic Islands in the Western Mediterranean Sea and is a rapidly growing international tourism destination. The sustainability of this island is highly dependent on critical resources – availability of potable water, the amount of which is limited due to natural conditions. The pre-historic Stone and Bronze Age cultures in the Eastern part of Mallorca were studied, mainly in the surroundings of Artas and Porto Crist. It was established that the number of the monuments’ remains is much bigger and their spatial distribution is connected to the hydrological network. The studies at Ses Paisses complex denote that a part of it was built using construction elements of much ancient structures recognizable by a number of certain features. An unknown structure was associated with a creek that is indicated by the ravine. It is assumed that megalithic Stone Age culture bearers abandoned this site and the island due to prolonged drought, which was the main reason of exhaustion of Bronze Age culture at that time and following migration of the population. Many caves at the eastern part of Mallorca are rich with stalactites-the valuable source of information about volume of water infiltrated into earth during years and changes accrued in longer periods of time. Ancient evidence plays a role of significant warning regarding the availability of potable water and should be evaluated carefully, regulating the density of population and tourism flow in the future.