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Lao Tzu

The Sound of a Stonehenge Ritual As it Might Have been 4,000 Years Ago

October 10th, 2011

See this BBC website article and slide show to read and hear about ‘virtual acoustic modelling’ which enables researchers to recreate the acoustics of the past. As they say in the excerpt, since Stonehenge was originally circular, it would have had a resonance which would eventually start to ‘ring’.

The article starts:   Visitors to Stonehenge in Wiltshire rarely experience the historic site without the rumble of traffic noise from the nearby A303. But UK researchers have managed to recreate the sound of a ritual there, as heard by our ancestors 4,000 years ago.
The research starts in an echo-free recording chamber and uses latest computer modelling techniques. Read more.

5 Responses to “The Sound of a Stonehenge Ritual As it Might Have been 4,000 Years Ago”

  1. That is *fascinating*! I wish they had posted a sound-file of what it would have sounded like – it must have been extraordinary!

  2. Wonderful! I think of other instruments known to that time period besides drums as well. Bone flutes, horn trumpets and other rattle type percussion. This reminds me of the study they did a while back of the sounds through the smoke and the patterns made from them, and how it inspired art at places like New Grange. It is amazing that we are always in a process of discovery about our ancient ancestors, they keep on surprising us in all they knew.

    Sound are very important, they are in a way ‘the colors of life’ for a blind person!

  3. I was disappointed – was expecting to hear how a full ritual would have sounded, especially at the end when they said they had recreated a Stonehenge in the US and built replicas of prehistoric drums. Still the pictures were fabulous!!

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