The world may finally hear in first person the words of the ancients—the possibilities are potentially endless. Imagine attending a philosophy lecture taught by Plato himself, or listening to a production of Aeschylus’s Oedipus Trilogy, played by ancient Greek Thespians themselves.
Archaeoacoustic scientists have recently discovered a way to play minute scratches in ancient pottery, much like vinyl records. Scientists, egyptologists, and classicists alike are enthralled by the possibility of finally hearing ancient tongues speaking long-forgotten dialects. The discovery is expected to be a breath of fresh air—a new voice—into the study of ancient history.
The current experiment is using primarily Greek pottery from the Mycenaean period (c. 1600-1100 BCE), due to the durability of red clay, and the smooth nature of the glaze used by ancient potters. Scientists explain that the purity of the glaze acts much like modern vinyl, and when combined with the tiny sharp edge of the potter’s tool, vibrations caused by sound can be carved into the surface of the glaze.
Richard G. Astley explains in his recently published study Vocal Capturing by Stylus in Red Clay Mycenaean Pottery that “sound vibrations can excite a stylus tool on a potter’s wheel and imprint wet clay with audible grooves.”
Astley used computer scans of the microscopic grooves in the thousands-of-years-old pottery to extract sounds. By expanding and clarifying the soundwaves on computer programs, he and his team were able to produce clear, audible sounds from a potter’s kiln during the Bronze Age. Several recordings contain clear vocal samples from what sounds like both men and women, including discernible dialogue and laughter.
History interests itself with what famous men and women did, how famous wars were won and lost, but we know little of what the average everyday citizen was like. Scientists, historians, and, indeed the global community, look forward to understanding, even just a little bit more, what life was like for the common man.
Now, we can hear the talk of wives laundering, the chatter of men at the bathhouse, the laughter of families in their homes. It is often difficult to empathize with people so far removed from where we are. Perhaps it is a romantic notion, but maybe by hearing the voices of these long-gone people, we will recognize ourselves in their stories and in their laughter. This will be an uncomparable discovery for humanity.
The first recording of ancient voices—made available for listening to the public through the Smithsonian Institution’s website—contains a sample of a single man’s voice speaking faintly in ancient Greek. When translated to English, he says “Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you. Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye, never gonna tell a lie and hurt you.”