Music and Archaeology (apropos of nothing)

Subject: Music and Archaeology (apropos of nothing)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 21 Mar 19 - 12:29 PM

Amateur archaeologist finds ‘phenomenal’ trove of rock engravings

An interesting pastime and kind of a reversal of how it works for many musicians - they do something else to support their music habit. He has been able to shift from music to teaching and the hunting of artifacts. I've selected a few paragraphs from the article, read the rest at the link. (I know there are quite a few armchair archaeologists in the Mudcat crowd.)

Scottish enthusiast George Currie’s prehistoric carvings to be included in ‘exciting’ research project

An amateur archaeologist has tracked down hundreds of prehistoric rock engravings in Scotland in what has been described as a “phenomenal” contribution to the understanding of Britain’s earliest artworks.

Walking in all weathers once or twice a week, George Currie, 66, a musician by trade, has located more than 670 Neolithic and Bronze Age carvings over the past 15 years. He told the Observer: “It was ridiculous … I got tired of recording the stuff. I’ve never come across quite so much.”

A semi-retired musician and teacher of guitar, bass and musical theory, Currie used to play with a band, Darts, that had chart success in the 1970s. He lives in Dundee, where he taught in a local college. “The course stopped. I didn’t fully retire, [but] it did give me more time to pursue this.”

Subject: RE: Music and Archaeology (apropos of nothing)
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Mar 19 - 05:19 PM

This looks just like ancient carvings in the US southwest

Subject: RE: Music and Archaeology (apropos of nothing)
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 22 Mar 19 - 12:58 AM

Darts.. their colourful revivalist rock n roll n doo wop well cheered us up
amidst all the anger and gloom of late 70s early 80s..

This really should go upstairs into music...

Subject: RE: Music and Archaeology (apropos of nothing)
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 22 Mar 19 - 03:27 AM

I liked some of the Darts songs too. I'm rarely up on band members but the one that sticks in my mind was a bass singer, apparently called Den Hegarty. According to Wikipedia, he works as a lecturer in psychology and Exeter University and with the Open University.

Subject: RE: Music and Archaeology (apropos of nothing)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Mar 19 - 12:07 PM

To broaden this discussion somewhat - there are lots of multi-talented professional musicians doing other things than music. And many people in other professions are very good musicians (every four years in Fort Worth is the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition.

I suspect for Currie, while he's out there looking around he's using the time to think about lots of things, including music. Back in the day when I was doing a lot of backpacking and mountain climbing, I (a writer) composed some of the best essays in my head as I walked. Interesting how the brain processes things, how one activity can provides different avenues into other interests.

Subject: RE: Music and Archaeology (apropos of nothing)
From: GUEST,Some bloke
Date: 24 Mar 19 - 04:08 PM

About fifteen years ago I was in Azerbaijan and was shown a hollow rock, about 3 foot long, a foot high. It was naturally hollow but had indentations in it.

The guide insisted it was a drum used at the same time of the cave paintings we saw. (It was at the entrance to one of the caves.)