Dans le cadre du colloque international MOISA Technology for the Music of Greek and Roman Antiquity: From Past to Present, qui s’est tenu à Crémone du 12 au juin 2023, Sylvain Perrot a présenté une communication sur les carapaces de tortue trouvées à Argos et a montré comment les données collectées ont été intégrées dans la base RIMAnt.
Résumé de la communication :
Better understanding the Argos lyres
In 1956, during the excavations led by the French Archaeological School close to the theatre of Argos, two tortoise shells were unearthed in an area, likely a sacred place. They were found in a kind of tumulus, covered by stones and pottery shards, and quickly afterwards, a small building was built above. Paul Courbin published both artefacts in 1980, focusing on the disposition of the holes on the so-called “South tortoise”, to reflect on how the arms were fixed to the sound box. The “North tortoise” in contrary has no hole, but an important part is missing. Both have been restored with wax, in order to protect the remaining scales. However, the handcraftsmanship has never been precisely investigated. In last December, I could access them with the restorer of the French School, Aristophanis Konstantatos, to work on a new restoration of the South tortoise (the shape was not respecting the species, Testudo Hermanni, which the position of the holes may particularly fit) and to look at any trace left by the artisans. This study shed light on the “life events” of both carapaces, which are the core of this paper. The South tortoise may have worked as a lyre, as it is achieved with the holes drilled, but the instrument was already in poor condition when it was deposited, while the North tortoise must have cracked much before in the process of instrument making, since the marginal scales have even not been filed. Therefore, both illustrate a different step of the “chaîne opératoire”. This investigation changes the signification of the deposit, as the dedicator(s) laid both objects carefully on the floor, with bones of sacrificed animals, although the objects were heavily damaged. The presentation will also be the occasion of showing the records of both items in the RIMAnt database.
