It sounds conspiratorial when I tell people that our ancient ancestors knew of, and could harness acoustic phenomena in a way that it could help induce trance like states, and even design their buildings around such an intangible detail. This is because the world of Archaeoacoustics is littered with faux pyramid stone moving theories or outlandish claims that are not in any way backed up by any evidence. The entire goal of this project apart from fulfilling a dream of mine, was to combat conspiracy theories by presenting an argument that takes away the pseudoscientific nature of Archaeoacoustics and places it back in the hands of genuine interest that isn’t rooted in eugenicist ideologies. and to make such a thing publicly available and not locked behind a university paywall or residing inside only a research paper.

Echoes of the past was a year long journey into the Cairns and stones circles of the island of Orkney off the coast of Scotland. using the work of past practitioners such as Dr Aaron Watson and David Keating on their research into the famous neolithic burial tomb Maeshowe, I came up with my own theories based on the infrasound properties of the tombs passageway, the correlation to the winter solstice and the cycle of rebirth. its proximity and similar building methods from its sister cairns, the existence of psychoactive plant life nearby, ethnographical studies and the acoustic phenomena we can hear with our very own ears inside of the massive stone circles. Using the data I gathered from secondary sources and field work I complied my findings into a dissertation and a documentary so that the acoustic knowledge we now have on these sites is more publicly accessible.

Echoes of the past was a passion project that I one day hope will flourish into an elegant truth with more time and samples, our forebears were incredible people and they could do incredible things with their world around them. I simply want to convey that to the world, and with the help of Historic environment Scotland and the GSA I feel we are one of many steps closer.