Soundscapes in Historic Settings - A Case Study from Ancient Greece

In the context of cultural heritage, soundscape analysis offers an untapped tool for identifying and assessing historic elements in built environments. A growing number of soundscape studies have begun to outline the additional level of interrelations present specifically in historic settings, exposing the experiential implications of current preservation work. But previous studies have not considered the soundscape itself as an element of history or historic value. Can a previous soundscape be identified as extant, partially or in full? Must physical heritage or intangible practice be intact for an historic soundscape to exist? What's more, can a soundscape without any living witnesses be identified? A case study in rural Greece, the ancient complex for Zeus worship on Mt. Lykaion, is presented in effort to both address these themes and contextualize such investigations within broader design and soundscape-based inquiry. Though the site stands in ruins, acoustic anomalies at Mt. Lykaion point to the potential persistence of an ancient designed soundscape, one that may have assisted direct communication between far removed buildings and locations during ancient ritual use. Strategies developed for soundscape identification and measuring at the site are presented alongside preliminary conclusions from the gathered data.