Recreating the Sound of Stonehenge

Stonehenge is the largest and most complex ancient stone circle known to mankind. In its original form, the concentric shape of stone rings would have surrounded an individual both visually and aurally. It is an outdoor space and most archaeological evidence suggests it did not have a roof. However, its large, semi-enclosed structure, with many reflecting surfaces, would have reflected and diffracted sound within the space creating an unusual acoustic field for the Neolithic Man. This project has reconstructed the acoustic sound field of Stonehenge based on measurements taken at a full size replica in Maryhill, USA. Acoustic measurements were carried out using modern techniques and the response collected in both mono and B-Format at various source-receiver positions within the space. A brief overview of a few acoustic parameters together with a comparison to a recent measurement in the current Stonehenge site is provided. The auralisation process presented uses a hybrid ambisonic and wave field synthesis (WFS) system. Anechoic recordings were rendered as focussed sources in the WFS system whilst their reverberant B-Format counterpart was rendered using ambisonic technology. Using this technology, the original acoustics of the space have been reconstructed for listeners. The paper discusses the measurement, acoustic response and rendering of single, focused sources within the space. The use of multiple B-Format impulse responses for various source positions allows embedding of these focussed sources within the reverberant field.