Dry stone walls – ancient technology that still works today

the Majorca countryside It is characterized by the ancient construction method “Marges de piedra en sec” (dry stone walls), especially in the Tramontana area, where the walls support terraces of olive groves, as well as in Interior of the island to reduce characteristics.

Once you work on a piece of land in Mallorca, you find it Endless stones. So it was collected and used on site for construction. They are two walls to define the terrain and support terraces on the mountain slopes The most common and distinctive buildings in Mallorca.

The dry stone wall on the terraces must withstand the pressure of the ground and at the same time Rainwater leakage and distribution Make it possible. The walls are always built diagonally against the slope, and thick stones are placed in the lower rows, the size of the stones becoming smaller as the height increases. In dry stone walling, one stone is placed on top of another, and no mortar or other bonding material is used. To prevent the wall from moving, every stone must be ground The largest possible contact area With adjacent stones.

It was first mentioned in the thirteenth century

In the first thirteenth century Dry stone walls mentioned in Soller. The Arab occupiers probably used “dry stone technology” 200 years ago to create areas suitable for agriculture and to create structures for transporting and storing water: irrigation canals, water canals, wells and cisterns. Many centuries-old irrigation systems transport and It still retains rain and groundwater to this day.

I have generations of margers (that’s what dry stone masons call it). Hand-built stone heritage. There are about 20,000 km of “margins” at Tramuntana, which is the highest wall on the road to Sa Calobra and has an area of ​​about 1,800 square metres. It is 17 meters high at its highest point.

These trees grow inside the walls

Mainly there are olive trees, but also… Carob trees, almond trees and oak trees, Which grows within dry stone walls – always in perfect harmony with the surroundings. Every year, about 1% of walls are damaged by rain or storms Need to be repaired or rebuilt.

The environmental and economic advantages of this construction technology include: slope stability, Better distribution of natural irrigation, preventing avalanches, soil erosion and degradation as well Forest fire prevention. Working on terraces, which are sometimes very narrow and inaccessible, is difficult and can usually only be done by hand without machinery.

However, a large part of Mallorca’s 750,000 olive trees find their home here and bring them Olives like no other Stand out with our unique olive oil Do Olí de Mallorca Extra original with certificate of origin and quality guarantee.