Rock Art and Sounds in and around the Fontainebleau Forest (France)
iegor REZNIKOFF
First Study
In March 2022, a research team from France and from abroad – with, among others, Alain Bénard, Patrick Dubreucq, Médard Thiry, Boris Valentin, (from France), Eamon O’Kane (Ireland), Geir Harald Samuelsen (Norway), and myself – visited and studied some rock shelters in the forest of Fontainebleau and around, in the South of Paris. The studied rock shelters are among the most important Prehistoric engraved ones with geometric motives, mostly deeply incised grids (Fig. 1), dated from Mesolithic-Chalcolithic period up to Iron Age (see [1]). Naturally, the friable sandstone rocks are the most engraved, contrary to those of hard sandstone. The aim of the study was mainly, particularly for the author of this Report, to test the sound resonance of these shelters – mostly narrow shelters with niches – possibly in connection with the engravings and pictures, which is the case for many Prehistoric caves and painted rocks (see [2], [3], [4]).
For the study, the sounds were vocal. The advantage of the vocal and aural technique is that using voice (and ears) is the most manageable technique, particularly in narrow tunnels or niches where computers, loud speakers or other devices have no access or cannot be used. Moreover, it is obviously the most natural method and was certainly practiced by prehistoric tribes: voice is the first musical instrument. A male voice is necessary because rather low pitches are needed to produce resonance effects. The process is strictly scientific: the pitches where controlled with a tuning fork; the same intensities of about respectively 60, 80 dB (exceptionally 90, in open space) were used, which is sufficient in relatively small spaces; for duration, an ordinary chronometer is convenient. There is no point in such a study to use results up to micro intervals, dBs or seconds. The main pitch of a resonance is easily found because this pitch is immediately and strongly amplified.
a) At Huison-Longueville, Essone (91)
1) Shelter Bulon 11 (Friable sandstone, many engravings). Very good resonance, sounding on deep E and D(around 80Hz). The sound is strongly amplified, particularly close to the engravings.
2) Shelter Bulon 4 (Friable sandstone with engravings). Good resonance between 2 adjacent rocks. The ground was full of dry leaves and had to be cleared out. Resonance is also on E and fills the whole space.
Both resonances are short in duration, less than a second; which is normal since the spaces are relatively small.
b) At Boissy-aux-Cailles, Seine-et-Marne (77)
3) Shelter Vieille Vigne 1 (Partly engraved friable sandstone and partly, not engraved, hard sandstone). Well sounding long space mostly in the engraved part, despite leaves and sand on the ground.
4) Small shelter or niche, located at 30 meters east from the previous shelter. Hard sandstone, only few engravings, almost no resonance.
We studied, in the vicinity of those mentioned above, some non friable sandstone shelters, where the resonance happened to be naught and there are no engravings. The number of shelters in this area being high, these negative results are not definitely significant. However, this First Study clearly supports the hypothesis of a correlation between engravings and the acoustic quality of their locations.
Fig. 1 – Typical engraved grids (Photo D.Caldwell)
Second Study
On October the 12th, 2022, under the leadership of Médard Thiry, we have studied shelters with important engraved figurative pictures, possibly from the Palaeolithic, as well as shelters with geometric engravings.
1) Rock LFO 01, named place Le Paradis, at Courdimanche (Essone, 91). In the cavity, with a very tight entrance of about a 1 m diameter, appears a mainly natural engraving representing a female sexual picture, clearly a vulva with flow furrows, actually leaking from water coming from outside in case of rain [5]. The sandstone is not friable; the shelter shows a resonance on A (110Hz) and C# a third above A, and a resonance in E at the lower fourth from A. This E is an important tone, as a fifth above the low A (55Hz), since at the entrance of the shelter, the sound B(above the A) sounds clearly as a fifth of E.
2) The Rock LFO 02 is about 20m from the previous one. In the shelter, at the higher part, a ‘well’ was built with, on its base, two small niches (about 50cm depth), where, on a non friable sandstone, some engraved lines appear. The left Niche (south-east, when coming in) clearly sounds in E and D (under A 110Hz); while at the right Niche, we find the resonance in the same D as in the left Niche. These resonances are obvious, although of rather short duration (less than a second), as remarked above.
3) Shelter Ségognole SEG3, at Noissy-sur-Ecole (Seine-et-Marne, 77). This shelter has also a female sexual symbol with a vulva (see Fig. 2), and with facilities to further a flow in case of rain [6]. This very apparent symbol is surrounded by two fine engravings of Horses (apparently of Palaeolithic style [7]). A half natural, half engraved, Bison can be seen at the right of the right horse (see the detailed paper [8]).
Fig. 2 - – Ségognole 3, Female sexual symbol (Photo D.Caldwell)
This cave of hard non friable sandstone, and therefore with not so deep engravings, but featuring a remarkable composition, has a clear and strong resonance already at the main entrance where a Head of a Horse emerges from a natural relief[1] (see Fig. 3). This resonance, in F# (under A 110), dominates, particularly at the two Horses and at the Bison engraved at the left and right of the main female picture. At the opposite higher side of this shelter, there is a second entrance. On the left from this entrance, the cave sounds in A, fifth of the low D which could be the fundamental giving this A, but sounds also in F# heard at the other side. A resonance in B, a second above A, can be perceived also. In this shelter, we find an impressive richness of resonance as well for intensity, filling the whole cave. The correlation between pictures and sound is here quite remarkable. (Although, as noticed above, the duration of resonant sounds is short).
Fig. 3 – Ségognole 3, Head of Horse; the mane is much more apparent in reality (Photo M.Thiry).
These three examples 1) – 3), where the shelters are of hard sandstone, include, however, important pieces of figurative art; therefore, it appears that besides the obvious natural data, one of the main reasons for these engravings to be there, is the strong resonance, or what we call sound dimension of these shelters.
3) Shelter Ségognole SEG2bis, in front of the second entrance of the previous shelter. The sandstone is hard and it shows only one shallow geometric engraving. The resonance is weak. This negative result confirms the previous remark on the sound and engravings relationship.
Notice
For a photographic overview of engravings and pictures in the studied area, one may look at this extraordinary panorama : https://www.duncancaldwell.com/Site/Rock_Art_Photos/Pages/Rock_art_near_Paris,_France.html#273
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[1] Guéret, C. and Benard, A. 2017. “Fontainebleau rock art” (Île-de-France, France), an exceptional rock art group dated to the Mesolithic? Critical return on the lithic material discovered in three decorated rock shelters. Journal of Archaeological Sciences: Reports 13, 99–120.
[2] Reznikoff I. 2012. “La dimension sonore des grottes paléolithiques et des rochers à peintures”. In : Clottes J. (dir.), L’art pléistocène dans le monde, Actes du Congrès IFRAO, Tarascon-sur-Ariège, septembre 2010, N° spécial de Préhistoire, Art et Sociétés, Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Ariège-Pyrénées, LXV-LXVI, 2010-2011, CD : p. 45-56.
Or, in English, 2014. “On the Sound Related to Painted Caves and Rocks”, Sounds Like Theory. XII Nordic Theoretical Archaeology Group Meeting in Oulu 25.–28.4.2012, J. Ikäheimo et al. (eds), Monographs of the Archaeological Society of Finland 2, Helsinki 2014, p.101–109.
[3] Díaz-Andreu, M., and C. García Benito. 2015. “Acoustic Rock Art Landscapes: A Comparison Between the Acoustics of Three Levantine Rock Art Areas in Mediterranean Spain.” Rock Art Research 32 (1): 46–62.
[4] Rainio, R., A. Lahelma, T. Äikäs, K. Lassfolk, and J. Okkonen. 2018. “Acoustic Measurements and Digital Image Processing Suggest a Link Between Sound Rituals and Sacred Sites in Northern Finland.” Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 25: 453–74.
[5] Thiry, M., Liron, M.N., Auffret, M.-C, Auffret, J.-P. 2021. “Morphologie sexuelle féminine mise en valeur par un aménagement hydrologique à Courdimanche-sur-Essonne (91).” . in : Valentin B. (Coord.), Art rupestre préhistorique dans les chaos gréseux du Bassin parisien (ARBap). Etude, archivage et valorisation. Programme collectif de recherche (2021-2023), Rapport d’activités 2021, p. 181-216.
[6] Thiry, M., Cantin, A., Valentin, B., Zotkina, L., Robert, E., Lesvignes, E., Bénard, A. 2020. “Anthropogenic hydrological staging of a Late Palaeolithic carved shelter from Paris Basin.” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 33, 102568, 14 p, 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102567.
[7] Bénard, A., 2010. L’abri orné de la Ségognole, Noisy-sur -École, Seine-et-Marne. description des gravures et proposition d’attribution chronoculturelle. Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Française 107 (3), 521–536.
[8] Caldwell, D. 2011, “The identification of the first Paleolithic animal sculpture in the Ile-de-France: the Ségognole 3 bison and its ramifications”. In : Clottes J. (dir.), L’art pléistocène dans le monde, Actes du Congrès IFRAO, Tarascon-sur-Ariège, septembre 2010, N° spécial de Préhistoire, Art et Sociétés, Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Ariège-Pyrénées, LXV-LXVI, 2010-2011, CD : p. 419-461.
