How to play an ancient rock gong

 

The British Museum invited Dr Cornelia Kleinitz, an archaeologist specialising in rock art, and Liam Williamson, a modern rock drummer, to try and discover how a rock gong might have been played. This was the result. Rock gongs are a type of lithophone that were used for thousands of years in several parts of Africa. They may have been used as part of rituals, to signal other people, or as a form of expression. Although they look like plain boulders, they have a hollow, metallic sound when struck due to the composition of the rock. Nick Harris @preservethings | Director, Producer, Sound Gabriel Sainhas | Camera, Editor This film was created with the African rock art image project which is supported by the Arcadia Fund. For more information visit: http://britishmuseum.org/africanrockart