Sound Archaeology: A Study of the Acoustics of Three World Heritage Sites, Spanish Prehistoric Painted Caves, Stonehenge, and Paphos Theatre

Rupert Till

doi:10.3390/acoustics1030039

Abstract

This paper explores the acoustics of three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: five caves in Spain that feature prehistoric paintings that are up to 40,000 years old; Stonehenge stone circle in England, which is over 4000 years old; and Paphos Theatre in Cyprus, which is 2000 years old. Issues with standard acoustic methods are discussed, and a range of different possible approaches are explored for sound archaeology studies, also known as archaeoacoustics. The context of the three sites are examined followed by an analysis of their acoustic properties. Firstly, early decay time is explored, including a comparison of these sites to contemporary concert halls. Subsequently, reverberation, clarity of speech, and bass response are examined. Results show that the caves have a wide range of different naturally occurring acoustics, including reverberation, and strong bass effects. Stonehenge has acoustics that change as the design of the site develops, with some similarities to the effects in the caves. Acoustic effects vary considerably as you move further into the centre of the stone circle, and as the stone circle develops through time; these effects would be noticeable, and are a by-product of the human building of ritual sites. At Paphos Theatre, acoustics vary from the best seats on the front rows, backwards; here, the architects have considered acoustics in the design of the building. The paper illustrates the changing acoustics of ritual sites in human cultures, showing how sound contributed to giving spaces an individual character, helping to afford a sense of contextualized ritual place.

Highlights

This paper asks how one best studies the acoustic ecologies of archaeological spaces? Are standard acoustics methods appropriate in such sound archaeology or archaeoacoustic research? It explores how acoustics in sites that feature ritual use change through different stages of human culture, from Palaeolithic painted caves in Northern Spain, with a context dated from 43,000 years in the past, through the monumental 5000-year-old architecture of Neolithic Stonehenge in Britain, to the public theatres of Roman culture, in Paphos on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus
While previous studies of the acoustics of these and other archaeological sites have provided a range of results, this paper provides for the first time a comparison of different archaeological eras and contexts, and of acoustic metrics, such as early decay time (EDT), clarity, speech transmission, consonant intelligibility, and bass ratio
It is somewhat surprising that a cave made up of a corridor with a diameter and height of approximately 2 m, can produce reverberation which is not perceived as different to a number of modern concert halls

Summary

Introduction

This paper asks how one best studies the acoustic ecologies of archaeological spaces? Are standard acoustics methods appropriate in such sound archaeology or archaeoacoustic research? It explores how acoustics in sites that feature ritual use change through different stages of human culture, from Palaeolithic painted caves in Northern Spain, with a context dated from 43,000 years in the past, through the monumental 5000-year-old architecture of Neolithic Stonehenge in Britain, to the public theatres of Roman culture, in Paphos on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. All three are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the paper explores what the changes in the acoustic effects present suggest about how human culture changes over time. It asks what problems are encountered when examining the acoustics of ancient sites. While previous studies of the acoustics of these and other archaeological sites have provided a range of results, this paper provides for the first time a comparison of different archaeological eras and contexts, and of acoustic metrics, such as early decay time (EDT), clarity, speech transmission, consonant intelligibility, and bass ratio. As well as adopting empirical quantitative approaches, this project includes a qualitative comparative assessment of the sites being studied, as is appropriate when studying the experience of sound within ritual sites, and working within an interdisciplinary field that addresses archaeology, sound, and music, as well as scientific acoustics

Methods

Results

Conclusion