Falkland: a sonic investigation of place

This article outlines the theory and methodology underlying our ongoing sound art project on the Falkland Estate in Fife, Scotland. Falkland has a rich vein of intriguing geological and archaeological features and historical narratives. Our various sound works draw on both our personal responses to the site and the testimonies of others with a specific relationship to Falkland. A central element of the project is the application of the techniques of ‘reconstructive acoustic archaeology’ to historical structures on the Estate, such as the ruin of the nineteenth century ‘Temple of the Decision’. The latter is being investigated in relation to the imagined sounds of spaces outside of the range of oral history. Using the technique of ‘convolution reverb’, we aim to simulate the experience of listening inside the Temple when the building was intact. This project and the methodologies employed open up issues in relation to the use of media technologies to investigate and re-interpret historical actions, processes and memory.