Bronselurer på nytt

De storslåtte lurene fra Skandinavias bronsealder har fått mye oppmerksomhet fra både arkeologer og musikkforskere, helt fra de første funnene på slutten av 1700-tallet. Mitt bidrag til denne forskningstradisjonen er artikkelen «The Ritual Significance of the Scandinavian Bronze Age Lurs: An Examination Based on Ethnographic Analogies», som nå er i trykken. Den blir publisert i bokaMusic and Ritual – Bridging Material and Living Cultures, og gitt ut av Ekho Verlag, Berlin. En PDF av artikkelen blir snart tilgjengelig fra forlaget.

Her er artikkelens engelske abstract:

The horns of the Scandinavian Bronze Age—the so called bronze lurs—were originally deposited in pairs as sacrifices, most of them in wetlands. It is commonly accepted that these instruments were used for ritual and cultic purposes. Based on the archaeological contexts of the finds, iconographical sources, and analogies drawn from different instrument traditions, the article discusses and re-examines the ritual significance of the bronze lurs and their sound. It also analyses the utility value of analogy, and discusses the meaning and usability of the concept of ritual, in connection with religion, performance and music. Other lip-vibrated aerophones from several continents might in various ways provide some parallels to bronze lurs. From archaeological sources the lurs could be compared to the bronze horns of Ireland. Other European ancient trumpets are less relevant analogies, but still important as comparative material. One plausible interpretation of the ritual use of bronze lurs is that they were part of calendar celebrations that worshipped the sun, and thus ensured cyclical renewal, continuity and cosmological order.