Inspiring and interdisciplinary on Bornholm

Over the May Day weekend, I took part in a few intense days on Bornholm exploring sound in prehistory. Participants from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, and England were brought together for explorations and experiments with instruments, voice, and sound. The gathering was organised by Eva Fock through her project Sound of Antiquity. This was not a traditional conference where one person after another presents results, but a collective exploration and development of questions and ideas—an interdisciplinary meeting between researchers and musicians. It was very fruitful to meet new people and explore new ideas.

The first day, at the rock-carving site Madsebakke, was devoted to lurs. No fewer than five bronze lurs were in use, alongside other metal lurs and lurs made of wood. I myself brought a couple of my short lurs, which in Norway have traditionally been called ‘stuttlurer’ or ‘bjønnatuter’.

We investigated, among other things, different playing techniques, acoustic reflections in the landscape and vegetation, and the ritual use of the instruments—including the effect of dissonance and interference.

The second day focused on the human voice, at Rispebjerg—an archaeological area with ancient remains from the Stone Age and Iron Age. One of the themes we explored was Tacitus’ description of the Germanic peoples’ use of shields as voice amplifiers; another was ceramic jars used as voice maskers.

In addition, I was part of a small group that tested mouth bows, based on a Danish Mesolithic find from Mullerup (ca. 9000 BP). It is a quiet instrument and was probably not meant to entertain many listeners. It sounds better inwardly in the body of the person playing—like a meditative overtone instrument.

On the last day we were in Ekkodalen (the Echo Valley) in the middle of the island—one of the biggest tourist attractions, both because of the cliff faces that answer back and the beautiful scenery. We held a successful sound walk open to the public, with different stations along the trail in the valley. I also took part in acoustic measurements together with my colleague Julia Shpinitskaya.

Thanks to Eva Fock in Ears Wide Open for a wonderful initiative!