Consell de Formentera offers virtual visits of megalithic Ca na Costa burial site

foto 2021 ca na costaThe Formentera Patrimony Department reports that starting today, visitors of the Consell de Formentera website will find a new feature: virtual visits of Ca na Costa, a burial site which scientists say dates back to megalithic times. The Formentera and Eivissa island governments are both participants in the project, which was conceived by the Archaeological Museum of Eivissa and Formentera (MAEF) before being picked up by the Balearic Ministry of Culture.

Following this link from the Consell de Formentera website, visitors get a full 3D tour with detailed Spanish- and Catalan-language explanations about various features of the monument. A general overview of the historical site is offered too, as well as an interactive map and information about MAEF’s wider effort to digitise other archaeological sites.

‘Bringing islanders face-to-face with heritage’
According to Formentera Heritage Department chief Raquel Guasch, “the FHD embraced MAEF’s initiative because bringing islanders into contact with Formentera’s archaeological heritage is one of our top priorities this legislative term. This digital tool will make it easier to bridge the gap.” Guasch said the goal was to develop the digital catalogue still further, giving prominence to heritage sites and working together with MAEF, whose work so far she described as “fantastic”.

Marking a convergence of the island governments of Formentera and Eivissa and the regional administration in Palma, the initiative aims to take the Pine Islands’ archaeological endowment online, where it can be enjoyed not just by locals but by people around the world. Plans to incorporate other visitable landmarks into the catalogue are seen as a way to promote in-person visits as soon as the public health situation improves.

MAEF unveiled the initiative in March 2020, highlighting virtual visits of the Monographic Museum of Puig des Molins and the nearby underground graves known as “Hipogeus de la Mula” (a site managed by the Balearic Ministry of the First Minister’s Office, Culture and Equality in coordination with MAEF). The collaborative effort has also meant the digitising and preparation for virtual visits of two other Eivissa landmarks: Ses Païsses archaeological ruins in Cala d’Hort and the sanctum of Cova des Culleram.

10 February 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera