The Wind Harp
The People of the Mounds
Aerial photograph of the Mounds
"Having struggled with great difficulty through the uplands of Agsazar, we have at last arrived at the woodland flatlands. The water flowing down from the mountains has all but formed the neighbouring landscape into a swamp. We came upon the old man in the course of a hunt for food. With startled cries of »achiva-achivae«he fled in the direction of a nearby clump of bushes and, to the consternation of us all, disappeared at the base of one of the mounds. Our strange but then ageing guide heard the cry »erkhon-ishazur«, at which the unknown one, appearing from behind a stone gateway, greeted us with a strange half-smile and a bow. Days later he led us into one of the peculiar constructions below the mounds. This was my first encounter with the »homes of the hiding folk«. A good two years later we could embark upon detailed excavation of the some thirty »mounds« making up this field of ruins."
From the diary of S. J. Robin
B. Günsberger photographs of the Mounds concealing the Wind-harp
The results of the eight years of excavation, although stimulating diametrically opposing theories, spread like wildfire through the European circles so receptive to new discoveries. Below the removed layer of earth were positioned masterly carved assembled domes of stone, their impressive size amazing the excavating archaeologists.
Inside the domes the row of practically impenetrably interwoven chambers formed a veritable labyrinth. The inscriptions on the walls (inasmuch as they could be unambiguously deciphered) give little support as to the original use of the chambers. However, several of them refer to some kind of giant king's head, moulded from bronze (?) and buried face down (the 'king stone'), although the exploration ditches have produced no sign of such. The 'flood of rats' referred to here in many stories, was a revolting reality, and virtually paralysed those carrying out the excavation.
The dome referred to as the 'hall of the weeping heavens', dug nearby, was, contradictorily, a large columned chamber with pleasant acoustics, once surrounding a wind harp that on occasion broke forth into sound, amazing its discoverers with its peculiar hums, twangs and strange susurration.
In the neighbouring villages people consistently spoke of the 'the hiding ones' when referring to the one-time builders of the constructions. According to the assumption by S. J. Robin, possibly the mound-dwellers were once forced underground by some kind of curse. Certain inscriptions mention the power of the 'bad maxim' of Krakhur (in other writings Uretir), with which he deprived the people of the mounds of the celestial heaven.
The makett of the Wind harp
Reconstruction of Mound a/4
B. Günsberger's drawing oh the Mounds concealing the Wind-harp I.
B. Günsberger's drawing oh the Mounds concealing the Wind-harp II.
"At the time of the fall of the divinities bright lines appeared in the sky, our beasts became wild, our oxen tore their ropes, our dogs whined like orphaned children. Stinking wounds sprung forth from the chasms of the earth, from which deathly steam arose.. they lost the statues of the gods, for in the great tremor (sic!) they dispersed to dust. They forgot the tales of heroes that our grandfathers had muttered every night, they lost the songs that our women had hummed at the stream..."
Detail of an inscription from the wall of Dome III/2
It is without doubt that there are openings in some of the domes that form constellations, possibly the signs of some ancient upward desire. In the dome in Sector A/2 the Great Bear and the constellation of Libra can clearly be distinguished when the bright noontide sunshine through the openings cut by human hand.
It is likely that the stars, as heavenly messengers of light, and the great wind harp with its repetitive, humming rows of notes, also originating from above and without, sent its listeners into deep meditation. The winds of different strengths and directions are mentioned in the fragments by different names but with great respect. Researchers (B. Günsberger and his followers) draw from the written sources the conclusion of the existence of some kind of 'wind masters', whose office may have been the precise positioning of the wind harp and to tune it season by season. Their person was known only to a very narrow circle, and their work carried out each season in absolute secrecy. They identified each other through secret hand signals, and they relieved each other at the lunistice. Archaeologists have never been able to tune the harp exactly.
Fragment of Fresco (the Harp Warder)
The part of the Wind harp
"In vain I struggled to tune the wind harp, despite young Miss Courtambert (who as a delicate young thing took many piano lessons in her home from Tertsel, blinded early in life, endeavouring to rush to my aid..."
From the diary of B. Günsberger
The wind harp was otherwise constructed out of simple materials, and was the careful work of local master craftsmen (potters, smiths). The excavation logs (S. J. Robin and B. Günsberger, from 1922) write of an ornamental item made from silver and gold plate, named 'the nightingale' after its original sound. A strangely carved nephrite bung was placed in its blower at the time of thunderstorms.
It is probable that this ornamental harp element was obtained under dubious circumstances from the Obera-meisenhausen attic (together with the material finds from the Growing City preserved there) in the chaotic period following the Second World War, by the disreputable Croatian art collector Ante Topic Mimara.
Visitors of A. T. Mimara make mention that in the garden of his Split villa, when the icy Adriatic bora strikes, somewhat strange (soprano) singing sounds can be heard, lulling the guests. At such times Mimara, a peculiar half-smile on his face, answered inquisitive questions with anecdotes of "singing pieces of skilled metal-smithing and other metal philomels". This wind harp was also the object of special bargaining, which a few strange photographs taken from cover (the pictures of the 'lurker' J. P. Renan) appear to bear witness to, but the entire story is also cloaked in polit....
Fragmentary manuscript from the 'Wind Harp II' dossier preserved in the Gabion
A. T. Mimara?
The Wind harp
A. T. Mimara's discussion about the wind harp lecture
Secret harp warders' identifying hand signal
