Output details

Songs of the stones: the acoustics of Stonehenge

This article discusses the sonic culture of Stonehenge, exploring the related interdisciplinary fields of archaeoacoustics and music archaeology. Related material has also featured in a History Channel television documentary, Stonehenge (2009), shown internationally; a BBC Radio 4 documentary, Hearing the Past (2011); in the New Scientist (21.08.10, 44-7); and an iPhone App, Stonehenge Experience, published by Ribui. The film about the research, for which I provided the direction and soundtrack, was presented in an AHRC-funded ‘Beyond Text’ programme concert, Paleophonics: Music, Archaeology and the Politics of Representation, George Square Theatre, Edinburgh (May 2011). Presentations on this research have been given at the British Library; Yorkshire Archaeological Society; Hunter Archaeological Society; Council for British Archaeology; I Hear Too Science and Heritage Research Network; Bristol University; Durham University; Sheffield University; University of Cambridge, Cavendish Laboratory; City University of New York; University of Liverpool; and a keynote speech at the Space Matters Conference, University of Manchester. A presentation at the Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology Conference at Southampton University in 2012 led to a commendation in the conference’s Recycle Award competition. Development of this research was supported by the AHRC/EPSRC-funded (£30,000) research cluster for which I serve as a PI, the Acoustics and Music of British Prehistory Research Network. It also currently feeds into the EU Culture Programme-funded (€4 million) European Music Archaeology Project, for which I serve as a co-organizer. The ideas presented in this output have been further disseminated on the website http://soundsofstonehenge.wordpress.com; and, with simplified technical content, in Till, R. ‘Songs of the Stones: An Investigation into the Musical History and Culture of Stonehenge’, IASPM Journal Vol.1/2:1-18, (2011).