Sound Experience in Archaeology and Field Investigations An Approach to Mapping Past Activities Through Sound at Mount Lykaion’s Sanctuary of Zeus

The  recent  increase  of  sensory  archaeology  investigations  has  broadened the theory and field practices employed when examining  ancient  site  experience.  Sound  and  acoustics  have  played a recurring theme in many studies, from retracing past acoustic  designs  to  investigating  the  impacts  of  an  ancient  everyday soundscape. The development of sense‐based archaeological  explorations  in  the  early 21st  century  coincided  with similar phenomenologically related inquiries across the built environment  fields,  from  contemporary  architectural  theory  and  city planning to intangible and values‐based heritage practices.
In this discussion, an initial overview of the current discourse of sensory archaeology, archaeoacoustics, and ancient sound studies highlights  discursive  and  applied  overlaps  from  architectural  and  soundscape theory. The review focuses in particular on the field of psychoacoustics  and  recent  advances  in  predicting  the  human  response to differing sonic conditions. It also sets the multidisciplinary  stage  for  current  fieldwork  at  the  Hellenic  sanctuary of Zeus on Mount Lykaion, Greece. Few written accounts  of  this  site  remain  from  antiquity,  and  the  architectural  remnants are limited and fragmented; thus the rituals and athletic competition  practices  of  antiquity  remain  largely  unknown.  One  must look to other informative sources to gain insights into the past.  Sonic  relationships  observed  at  the  site  enable  startling  communicative ability between certain distant locations, often linking  landscape  features  and  building  footprints.  Could  such  synchronicities point to possible acoustic awareness in the ancient siting of structures? It remains a logical possibility considering the public  and  performative  nature  of  Zeus’  cult  practices  at  other  contemporaneous sites. Binaural recording technology, psychoacoustic  analyses,  and  site‐mapping  techniques  are  presented as tools for detecting whether and where such determinative  patterns  exist  between  the  site  and  surrounding  mountainous terrain. The methodologies that bridge technologies with theoretical approaches from multiple disciplines will  be  described  in  detail  along  with  the  first  findings  and  their  possible significance.