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Stonehenge; A Rock Concert
January 05, 2009 12:52 PM
By EAMONN TAYLOR, ABC News London
There have been endless theories about the origins of Stonehenge stretching from early interpretations – that Merlin the Wizard had a giant build it for him, or that it was the work of the devil. But now a U.K. professor named Dr. Rupert Till thinks he has finally heard the answer in the form of refined reverberation.
The acoustics and musical technology expert from Huddersfield University is convinced Stonehenge was used to magnify musical chants more than 5,000 years ago.
“I saw a presentation on acoustics by people who weren’t music technologists, and I knew there was more to it,” Till said. Previous approaches to the acoustics theory have focused on what acoustics sound like today inside Stonehenge but Till wanted to know what it would have sounded like 5,000 years ago.
“We’ve been taking different approaches. We looked at plans and what might have happened."
“There is a full-size reconstruction in Washington state and we did acoustic tests and we heard particular effects,” Till told ABC News. “Those effects are reverberations; combination of echoes and sound bouncing off of walls. It’s what makes your living room sound different from your bathroom.”
Although the replica is made of concrete this doesn’t concern Till. “Concrete is far more porous than sandstone so it’s not as reflective. It meant any conclusions we had would be conservative. All we can say really is the main thing is any effects would be underestimated not overestimated and that’s good for scientific research.”
Till is studying how different instruments would sound in different positions inside the site. He is currently using a computer model that can move different instruments to different positions inside the circle. “We used acoustic software to move sound originating from different places in the circle,” Till said. This enables researchers to figure out possible configurations for chanting or worship from a time when there was no written language.
Archaeologist Dave Batchelor for English Heritage, a group that cares for Stonehenge and 400 other historical sites across England, agrees with Till that the site could have been used for music or chanting. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard it,” Batchelor told ABC News about Till’s theory. “Acoustic properties are good. Voice and drum beats carry very well,” Batchelor said.
The archaeologist quickly pointed out though that there is no right answer. “You may find something more personally believable but no one has yet been able to concretely prove the stone circle's purpose.”
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January 5, 2009 in Eamonn Taylor | Permalink | User Comments (2)
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Do people really believe that all that effort would have been expended on Stonehenge - on the chance that it might have ‘sounded’ right?
Posted by: AJ | Jan 5, 2009 6:09:27 PM
This is a Great Theory
As an archaeologist I always though that there is always a purpose behind things and big slabs or rock wont be postioned for a random aim
Posted by: Aadel Rashid | Jan 6, 2009 7:25:51 AM
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