Page 79 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(2) (2024)

Table 6. Distances of the Closest Parish Churches to the Coverage Area of Àneu’s Bells

Parish church number the maps and name Minimum distance from Àneu’s bell coverage (meters)
13: Sant Just i Sant Pastor de Son 300–350
15: Sant Joan de Burgo 200–250
16: Sant Miquel de Llavorre 250–300
17: Sant Pere de Jou 350–400
18: Sant Bartomeu de Dorve 350–400

The Limitations of the SPreAD-GIS Script the audibility of bells in landscapes with varying
The simulation of sound propagation in the background noise levels. However, the SPreAD-
landscape, especially for sounds of large percus- GIS script developers indicate that some sounds
sion instruments such as bells, is an underdevel- can be heard below background noise levels 79
oped area of research. The SpreAD-GIS script (Keyel et al. 2017). In addition, previous studies
used in this archaeoacoustic study is not de- have shown that repetitive sounds can be heard
signed explicitly for bell sound propagation. Al- even more than 10 dB below background noise
though our simulation was validated by on-site levels (Almagro-Pastor et al. 2021), though none
acoustic measurements and followed by weath- have included church bells.
er scenario simulations, several script limitations Sound sensitivity and perception depend on
should be highlighted. various factors, including frequency, sound type,
The SpreAD-GIS is a static model that rep- auditory expectation, and age (Plack 2018). Our
resents the spatial pattern of bell sound propaga- subsequent research will question whether the
tion around the church for a snapshot in time. bell sounds lower than the background noise can
This model does not account for the cumulative be heard and, if so, by how much. This psycho-
effect of repetitive bell ringing. The script omits acoustic question warrants investigation with a Unveiling the Historical Significance of Santa Maria D’àneu
reflections and foliage effects, as accurately rep- statistically significant number of respondents.
resenting these factors would require higher-res-
olution data sets that are not widely available. The Aural Network and Santa Maria d’Àneu
Consequently, the simulation is somewhat sim- as a Central Church of the Àneu Valley
plified and does not provide precise predictions, According to the simulations and sound maps
particularly at the map’s borders. (fig. 6), Santa Maria d’Àneu appears centrally po-
The sound map provides a frozen image of
sound propagation in one moment. It fails to sitioned, especially for churches 10-18. In scenari-
transmit the dynamics of soundscapes. As Ml- os without wind, the bell sound propagation en-
ekuž (2004) pointed out, the soundscape is rel- compasses two or three parish churches (10, 12,
ative to the listener, in a permanent process of and 14). As presented in tab. 6, several church-
construction and stratification by the listener as es are positioned close to the bell sound propa-
(s)he’s moving across the landscape. gation area of Santa Maria d’Àneu (13, 15-18) at a
distance of 200 to 400 meters. Even if the San-
The Audibility of the Bell Ringing ta Maria d’Àneu bell ringing doesn’t reach these
While the SpreAD-GIS script allows for in- parish churches directly, it could be heard in the
troducing ambient sound conditions to predict nearby area. This would be sufficient to alert
where the bell sound would exceed background or notify the neighboring parish, which would
noise, we did not utilize this feature. Our hesi- then ring their bells and thus broadcast the sig-
tation stemmed from the absence of studies on nal further into the deanery.