Allow me to share a little gem with you which I chanced upon the other day in the village of Muro. I found this small plaque on an exterior wall to the Secció Etnològica del Museu de Mallorca in Muro, dating from 1581.

A coat of arms pertaining to the Balaguer family of Muro was carved by a local stone mason in the 16th century if one is to believe the inscription. The crest was carved in Piedra de Santanyí, a stone of calcarenite formation, used extensively in Mallorca during mediaeval times.

Apart from the family name and the date, the inscription reads IHS (Iesus Hominum Salvator, Latin for ‘Jesus Savior of Men’) and is an indication of the family’s possible affiliation with the Jesuit Society of Jesus. Some damage in the stone suggests that the tablet may have served as a target for shooting practices during times of civil upheaval, sometime in Mallorca’s past. Who knows?

The photo was taken in Muro, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: March 10th, 2011. The time was 12:30:46.