This site explores the acoustics, sounds and music of Stonehenge.
Who would have thought that one of the most studied archaeological sites in the UK would still have secrets hidden in plain view? However most previous studies of Stonehenge focused on looking at the site, rather than listening to it.
Music technologist and composer Dr Rupert Till started to ponder the likely acoustic effects of Stonehenge after finding a pilot study on the subject. He came up with the theory that the famous ring of stone could have sung like a crystal wine glass with a wet finger rubbing the rim, stimulated in this case by percussion played in time to the echoes of the space.
Thomas Hardy had hinted at this in 1891 in his novel Tess of the D’Urbavilles. Reading carefully between the lines with an acoustician’s ear, one can find him discussing various acoustic effects. Further research turned up an interview with the author in which he states that ‘if a gale of wind is blowing, the strange musical hum emitted by Stonehenge can never be forgotten’.
Mathematical acoustic analysis of Stonehenge’s Archaeological plans was followed by the acoustic analysis of a digital model of Stonehenge using software designed for architects’ use. The results of this analysis exceeded all expectations. The final stage of Stonehenge had acoustic figures that were as good as premier concert halls, and was perfectly suited to loud rhythmic music, much like a rock concert venue.
This work led to a visit to a full size concrete reproduction of Stonehenge in the USA, with acoustics expert Dr. Bruno Fazenda and Dr. Till flying to the Maryhill Monument in Washington State to use it as a model to carry out acoustic field measurements and search for evidence of acoustic features. Here it was possible to make the whole space resonate using a simple percussion rhythm, made by reconstructions of Neolithic instruments, and tuned to the space. Strange acoustic effects appeared in the space as if the stones themselves were singing. Dr. Fazenda has been a key research partner in the project, providing a acoustic and scientific grounding to the project.
The Maryhill trip led to 50,000 internet articles on the research, in turn leading to a History Channel Documentary in the MysteryQuest series (currently in post-production), and visits to Stonehenge itself, where echo patterns were found to support the theories.
The project has suggested where people might have stood at Stonehenge, the sort of instruments possibly used, what kind of sounds could have been made and how fast people might have played. It has also allowed tentative steps towards suggesting that the music may have acted to entrain the body, encourage Alpha rhythms in the brain, and help achieve altered states of trance-like consciousness.
Few specifics are known about the music, sound and ritual of prehistoric Britain, and any information that this project can uncover is significant. Stone circles are an enigmatic feature of British prehistory, and the hope is that understanding more about our past is on way of further understanding our present.
This work has led on to Dr. Till leading an AHRC/EPSRC research cluster focused on the acoustics and music of prehistory, a large grant application for further work on other prehistoric sites, collaboration on a TSB scheme to build an outdoor performance venue with similar acoustics and other research opportunities.
[Please note that this is an ongoing project and some of the results are preliminary. Any thoughts or feedback are more than welcome.]
Sounds of Stonehenge 
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December 9, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Casey Durant
the Maryhill Stonehenge is actually not in Oregon at all. It’s in Washington. The border between Oregon and Washington in that particular are actually lies in the middle of the Columbia River. Stonehenge is clearly on the Washington side. I reside in Goldendale, WA which is approximately 10 miles from the Maryhill Stonehenge!
July 29, 2010 at 3:53 pm
bfazenda
Casey, you are quite right. Maryhill Stonehenge is very close to the border but on the Washington side of the river. Where did you see stated that it is in Oregon? You are lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world.
March 17, 2010 at 10:21 pm
V
Interesting
stonehenge captivated my imagination too.
Good luck with your project.
V.
September 12, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Greywolf
As a visitor to both Stonehenge UK and Stonehenge USA (Maryhill), I’m aware of the differences between the two as well as the obvious similarities. Maryhill is made from concrete blocks, not sarsen and, where the Stonehenge sarsens are irregular in size and shape, the Maryhill stones are much more uniform. Plus, of course, the Maryhill site is located in a raised position on the side of a vast river valley while Stonehenge UK is in the centre of a large, more-or-less flat plain. These differences must make a difference to the acoustics and I’d be interested to know what allowances were made for them in using Maryhill to acoustically map Stonehenge.
At Stonehenge UK, I’ve been hugely impressed by the acoustics even in its current ruined state, while I found ‘awakening’ the resonances of Maryhill much more difficult, assuming this to be partly due to the differing acoustic properties of concrete and sarsen.
September 12, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Greywolf
OK, most of my questions answered on your ‘Maryhill’ page…
July 20, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Michael Bormann
Cool sounds man!
November 8, 2013 at 8:12 am
Geoffrey Morgan
Research into ‘Sounds of Stonehenge’ was carried out by Salford University in a four year study. It is incredible to think that academics can devote their time and finances on such nonsense. Archaeologists tell us that Stonehenge was built by Neolithic man using only stone hammers and antler bones. Now the likes of Dr Till tell us that they were actually acoustical engineers.
In the English Heriage ‘Guide to Stonehenge’ there is a plate (based on archaeological findings) that shows there were originally two Heel stones, two Intermediate and three Portal stones outside the Henge. The two lower stars of Orion are Rigel and Saiph, above them the nebulae and then the three belt stars – Stonehenge is laid out as if Orion was (in part) ‘folded down’ onto the ground. When built an observer at the centre of the Henge would have seen the middle belt star rise on the middle Portal between the Hell stones.
Geoffrey Morgan
November 8, 2013 at 2:38 pm
ruperttill
You will notice that English Heritage include my paper on the acoustics of Stonehenge on their online website of research on Stonehenge. Also if you read the research on the subject, there are a number of different interpretations of how many stones are outside of the main stone circle. We have looked at different possibilities, and indeed the official opinion of English Heritage has changed over the years depending on what evidence is present. It is thought that the altar stone may well have had a partner, but it is not known for sure. It is certainly thought that the number of external stones was different in the different phases of Stonehenge. There is no one Stonehenge, when you say,”three Portal stones outside the Henge”, you need to consider when you are talking about, at the beginning there were probably no stones, only wood. Later the number changed. There were may Stonehenges. It is clear from the various research that has been done, that there are significant acoustic effects present at Stonehenge. It is also clear that the stone hammers and antler bones you discuss would make sound, and that there was therefore sound-making going on at the site, and therefore that we should perhaps consider the sounds present. Studying the sounds of a site is part of the characterisation of a site. We have worked at various points with leading archaeologists as well as with English Heritage to guide our work.
February 17, 2015 at 9:39 pm
David Wilson
Hello everyone. I’ve been building Stonehenge (dominoes) since I was a child. In my opinion, there was something that kept the stones from falling downwards….I will try to provide a few examples….
April 12, 2017 at 3:19 pm
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[…] might. Till likened the resulting acoustics as being comparable to a world-class concert hall. Stonehenge, he estimated, would have suited “loud rhythmic music, much like a rock concert […]