MUSICVIM: Musical Instruments as Conveyor of Visual Messages. The case of Ancient Near Eastern Lutes

2026-07-22

At a time when electronic and digital musical instruments are increasingly replacing acoustic musical instruments, this project will show that acoustic instruments are complex objects that have historically appealed to multiple senses beyond hearing, suggesting that they cannot easily be excluded from performance. The case of Ancient Near Eastern lutes will be used to explore this idea. While modern long-necked lutes have a resonator covered with rawhide, the cuneiform texts from the 'Craft Archive' in the Mesopotamian city of Isin during the second millennium BCE specifically describe the use of black-dyed leather to make the cover for the resonator of a tigidla ('lute' in Sumerian). This project will explore the acoustic and socio-cultural implications of this particular fabrication by combining ANE Philological & Material Studies, Ethnomusicology, Experimental Archaeology, and Acoustics, and by bringing together academic and non-academic expertise (tanners, dyers, and instrument makers). Four tigidla replicas with covers of rawhide, black-dyed rawhide, undyed leather, black-dyed leather will be made using the extant ANE evidence. The sound of these replicas will be analysed by considering different textures, playing techniques, and recording spaces. The information from these recordings will be finally used to shed new light on many aspects of musical traditions and societies in the ANE region and beyond. This project will scientifically impact the fields of Musicology, most notably Sound Archaeology, and ANE Studies on economy, society, music, and colour. The value of traditional tanning, dyeing, and instrument-making will also be highlighted. They currently lack guaranteed generational handover but can contribute to the climate emergency, since they use eco-friendly products. Under the guidance of leading sound archaeology expert Rupert Till, the experienced researcher will be trained in tanning, dyeing, instrument making, and sound recording and analysis.

United Kingdom (UK)

2026-01-01