[et_pb_section fb_built=\u00bb1″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb|||0px||\u00bb link_option_url_new_window=\u00bbon\u00bb locked=\u00bboff\u00bb collapsed=\u00bboff\u00bb][et_pb_row column_structure=\u00bb1_2,1_6,1_6,1_6″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb text_text_color=\u00bb#EA5A01″ text_font_size=\u00bb68px\u00bb header_font_size=\u00bb66px\u00bb]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_6″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_6″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ES.jpg\u00bb title_text=\u00bbES\u00bb url=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/blog-28-descubriendo-las-trompas-de-caracola-neoliticas-de-cataluna\u00bb url_new_window=\u00bbon\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb70px\u00bb max_width=\u00bb70px\u00bb min_height=\u00bb45px\u00bb height=\u00bb45px\u00bb max_height=\u00bb45px\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_6″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/CAT.jpg\u00bb title_text=\u00bbCAT\u00bb url=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/blog-28-corns-marins-catalunya\/\u00bb url_new_window=\u00bbon\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb70px\u00bb max_width=\u00bb70px\u00bb min_height=\u00bb45px\u00bb height=\u00bb45px\u00bb max_height=\u00bb45px\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb1px||4px|||\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb4_4″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n
By Miquel L\u00f3pez Garcia<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\u00bb2_3,1_3″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb-24px|auto||auto||\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb12px||0px|||\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb2_3″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text content_tablet=\u00bb\u00bb content_phone=\u00bb\u00bb content_last_edited=\u00bbon|desktop\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb-10px|||||\u00bb]<\/p>\n
Since I was a child, a large conch shell has sat in our bathroom. Its purpose? Purely decorative. And its place? Naturally, the most \u201caquatic\u201d spot in the house \u2014 so the shell could feel at home. I never really wondered about its story, and I certainly never imagined it could make music\u2026 until I started learning trumpet at music school when I was seven years old. That\u2019s when my father casually mentioned that people used to use shells like this to \u201cplay music\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n At first, I failed spectacularly. My technique was terrible, and of course, the shell was nowhere near as comfortable as a modern trumpet. But after much practice and effort, I managed to coax a sound \u2014 and eventually a proper tone \u2014 from it. In fact, it was so loud that my parents quickly realized letting their child practice freely on this horn might not have been their best idea ever\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_3″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_2606-scaled.jpg\u00bb alt=\u00bbcaracola de Miquel\u00bb title_text=\u00bbIMG_2606″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb64px||||false|false\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb text_orientation=\u00bbcenter\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb-10px||||false|false\u00bb]<\/p>\n The shell trumpet that I first played as a child.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb||0px|||\u00bb collapsed=\u00bboff\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb4_4″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n This little story connects directly to what I want to share in this blog: my research on Neolithic shell trumpets from Catalonia, carried out with ICREA Research Professor Dr Margarita D\u00edaz-Andreu<\/a> during the final year of her ERC Artsoundscapes project. First, I had to learn how to play these ancient instruments. Second, it was the shell in my bathroom that first sparked my curiosity. And third, realizing so late that this \u201cdecorative\u201d shell could actually produce sound \u2014 even be played as a musical instrument \u2014 reminded me of what so often happens in museums. Objects like shell trumpets, once powerful sound-makers, are too often neglected, misidentified, or simply left in silence.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb||0px|||\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb4_4″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n The research on the Neolithic shells of Catalonia builds on the discovery of two Charonia lampas<\/em> shells in the Neolithic mines of Gav\u00e0, found three decades ago and identified as trumpets (Villalba et al. 1986<\/a>). More shells were uncovered in the years that followed. The idea of experimenting with how they might have sounded emerged in the 2000s, but it wasn\u2019t until 2014 that serious work began. Dr Jordi Nadal<\/a>, along with researchers from the Museu de la M\u00fasica de Barcelona, Museu de Gav\u00e0, and the Vinseum<\/a>, initiated the project. Unfortunately, despite the great efforts put in at the time, the project could not be completed and remained unpublished. Changes in software, computer systems, retirements, and other setbacks led to the loss of some of the results<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\u00bb1_4,3_4″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb||0px|||\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_4″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/journals.jpg\u00bb alt=\u00bbjournals with dance articles\u00bb title_text=\u00bbjournals\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb3_4″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n In 2021, Jordi Nadal approached Margarita D\u00edaz-Andreu and shared the details of the unfinished project. Marga tells me how amazed she felt \u2014 what an incredible opportunity for her ERC Artsoundscapes project to connect with local archaeology! Due to Covid-related travel restrictions, fieldwork was difficult, so the project had temporarily shifted its focus to studying sound and music as expressed in rock art. As a result, the project produced several articles on dance and musical instruments in Levantine art (in Zephyrus<\/a> and OJA<\/a>) and in Southern Africa (in Azania<\/a>, Telestes<\/a>, and JMA<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\u00bb1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb||0px|||\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb||0px|||\u00bb]<\/p>\n The potential of investigating musical instruments from the time when the Levantine paintings were created in the Eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula quickly became clear. However, for her finding the right person to lead this part of the project wasn\u2019t easy \u2014 and this is where I came in. With permission granted by the original research team, contacted through Jordi Nadal, we were able to move forward and begin our work.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20250127_113801-scaled.jpg\u00bb title_text=\u00bbIMG_20250127_113801″ align=\u00bbcenter\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb87%\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=\u00bbTexto\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb min_height=\u00bb52.4px\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb-10px|26px||26px|false|false\u00bb]<\/p>\n Playing a shell trumpet from Mas d\u2019en Boixos at the Vinseum (Vilafranca del Pened\u00e8s). Photograph by Margarita D\u00edaz-Andreu.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\u00bb1_2,1_2″ admin_label=\u00bbFila\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb||0px|||\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n Half of the twelve known Neolithic shell trumpets come from the Gav\u00e0 Neolithic variscite mines. On our first visit to the Museum of Gav\u00e0<\/a>, Josep Bosch \u2014 the museum curator and one of the scholars who knows the mines best \u2014 showed us the various fragments stored in the museum attic. Sunlight streamed through the windows, highlighting the warm colours of the shells. To be honest, I was a little nervous. Imagine being a trumpet player allowed to play an instrument that could very well be the great-great-grandparent of yours \u2014 a privilege and a responsibility at the same time. After the first sounds, made under Dr. Bosch\u2019s supervision, staff from nearby rooms \u2014 and eventually the museum director \u2014 came to see and hear what was happening. The same thing happened later at the museum in my hometown, Matar\u00f3, where I tested a remarkably well-preserved Iberian shell trumpet.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_20241106_101937-scaled.jpg\u00bb title_text=\u00bbIMG_20241106_101937″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n Josep Bosch (left) and Miquel L\u00f3pez (right) during the first examination of the shell trumpets at the Museum of Gav\u00e0. Photograph by Margarita D\u00edaz-Andreu.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\u00bb1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb||0px|||\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_1408-scaled.jpg\u00bb title_text=\u00bbIMG_1408″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb408px\u00bb max_width=\u00bb408px\u00bb min_height=\u00bb219px\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb||16px|||\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n Examining the shell trumpets and possible fragments in the new facilities of Vinseum (Vilafranca del Pened\u00e8s).<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n The second group of previously known trumpets, from Mas d\u2019en Boixos, are kept in the recently renovated Vinseum<\/a>, a museum in Vilafranca del Pened\u00e8s (which, despite its name, holds archaeological and ethnological collections, as it began as a municipal museum before later shifting its focus to wine). Jordi Farr\u00e9, the museum curator, welcomed us warmly and proudly showed off the fantastic new research facilities. On my first visit, he invited me to see the permanent exhibition\u2014only for a blackout to strike just as I entered the second room. So, the permanent exhibition tour is still pending. At the Vinseum, as in Gav\u00e0, we organized three visits: first, to inspect the specimens; second, to examine them under a microscope; and third, to carry out the acoustic measurements, the main focus of our project.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb||0px|||\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb4_4″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n For the acoustic tests, we needed a controlled environment with minimal echoes and background noise. That meant avoiding noisy activities and visitors, and finding the perfect spot inside the museums. At the Vinseum<\/a>, this led to us clapping and singing our way through every room \u2014 I\u2019m pretty sure more than one staff member thought we\u2019d lost our minds.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\u00bb1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb||11px|||\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_2933-scaled.jpg\u00bb title_text=\u00bbIMG_2933″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n Removing the display case protecting the shell trumpet from Cova de l\u2019Or at the Museu Municipal de Molins de Rei.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n Similar expeditions took place at our faculty, for the Cal Pere Pastor shell trumpet, and at the Museu Municipal de Molins de Rei<\/a>, for the well-preserved specimen from Cova de l\u2019Or. At the latter institution, we needed the help of specialists from KuanUm<\/a> to remove the delicate glass cover of the exhibition stand. In this case, as in Matar\u00f3, the best recording spot was also the least visually appealing: storage rooms full of old displays, computers, and cleaning supplies \u2014 perfect natural sound absorbers. We didn\u2019t face this issue at the Museu d\u2019Hist\u00f2ria de Barcelona (MUHBA)<\/a>, where N\u00faria Mir\u00f3 helped us study the Espalter I trumpet, since it couldn\u2019t be played due to a large breakage.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\u00bb1_5,3_5,1_5″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb6px||6px||true|false\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb6px||6px||true|false\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_5″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb3_5″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/www.ub.edu\/artsoundscapes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG-20250210-WA0137-scaled.jpg\u00bb title_text=\u00bbIMG-20250210-WA0137″ align=\u00bbcenter\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb70%\u00bb max_width=\u00bb100%\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb2px||2px||false|false\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb2px||2px||true|false\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_5″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=\u00bb1_5,3_5,1_5″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb6px||6px||true|false\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb6px||6px||true|false\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_5″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb3_5″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text admin_label=\u00bbTexto\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb text_orientation=\u00bbcenter\u00bb]<\/p>\n Testing the shell trumpet from la Cova de l\u2019Or at the Museu Municipal de Molins de Rei.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=\u00bb1_5″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb|auto|-23px|auto||\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb4_4″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb][et_pb_text content_tablet=\u00bb\u00bb content_phone=\u00bb\u00bb content_last_edited=\u00bbon|desktop\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb custom_margin=\u00bb-16px|||||\u00bb]<\/p>\n But probably the most extraordinary recording session took place over two days in three of the mining galleries at the Archaeological Park of the Mines of Gav\u00e0<\/a>. Realizing we had an incredible opportunity to play original Neolithic instruments in an original Neolithic space, we decided to test how audible the shell trumpets were inside the mines and whether they might have played a role in mining activities. We conducted the experiment under the supervision of the museum staff. Playing the instruments there was simply breathtaking. The experience of entering those dark, humid galleries reminded us how vital sound must have been in extractive work during the Neolithic era. Although the galleries aren\u2019t suitable for people with vertigo and some members of our team felt a bit uneasy, the visit itself was spectacular, with dramatic shafts and rock formations.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.9.3″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb]<\/p>\n