The Sumerian Silver Lyre

The 5000-year-old Sumerian “Silver Lyre of Ur”, along with several other musical instruments, was unearthed in southern Iraq in the 1920’s by the British archaeologist, Sir Leonard Woolley. Very little of it was left after five millennia, but careful research revealed that the soundbox was entirely made of silver, not wood overlaid with a sheet of silver. The soundbox of this reproduction of the Silver Lyre is made of metal, which gives the instrument a timbre that is probably comparable to the original artifact. For anyone wanting more information, I refer you to the work of the remarkable archaeomusicologist, Richard Dumbrill.