Posts on Hackaday sometimes trend a little bit retro, but rarely do we cover hacks that reach back into the Bronze Age. Still, when musician [Peter Pringle] put out a video detailing how he replicated an ancient Sumerian instrument, we couldn’t wait to dig in.
The instrument in question is the “Golden Lyre of Ur”, and it was buried at the Royal Cemetery of Ur with a passel of other grave goods (including a Silver Lyre) something around 4400 to 4500 years ago. For those not in the know, Ur was an early Sumerian city in the part of Mesopotamia became modern-day Iraq. A lyre is a type of plucked stringed instrument, similar to a harp.
That anything of the instrument remains after literal millennia buried under the Mesopotamian sand is thanks to the
extensive ornamentation on the original lyre– the gut strings and wooden body might have rotted away, but the precious stones and metals adorning the lyre preserved the outline of the instrument until it was excavated in 1922. Reconstruction was also greatly aided by contemporary mosaics and pottery showing similar lyres.
For particular interest are the tuning pegs, which required that artistic inspiration to recreate– the original archeological dig did not find any evidence of the tuning mechanism. [Peter] spends some time justifying his reconstruction, using both practical engineering concerns (the need for tension to get good sound) and the pictographic evidence. The wide “buzzing” bridge matches the pictographic evidence as well, and gives the lyre a distinct, almost otherworldly sound to Western ears. [Peter]’s reconstruction sounds good, though we have no way of knowing if it matches what you’d have heard in the royal halls of Ur all those dusty centuries ago. (Skip to 17:38 in the video below if you just want to hear it in action.)
The closest thing to this ancient, man-sized lyre we’ve seen on Hackaday before might be one of the various laser harp projects we’ve featured over the years. If you squint a little, you can see the distant echo of the Golden Lyre of Ur in at least some of them. We also can’t help but note that the buzzing bridge gives the Sumerian lyre a certain droning quality not entirely unlike a hurdy-gurdy, because we apparently can’t have a musical post without mentioning the hurdy-gurdy.
Wooow. That sounds really cool. I think I like it better than a harp.
I would love a recurring column on Bronze Age hacks.
“use this hack for persistence of vision clay tablets and a windmill”
Yeah me too. I suppose Clickspring’s Antikythera build qualifies.. But I’d love to see more.
I would love a recurring column on stringed instrument (specifically Guitar-related) hacks.
Way to be a great writer- thanks.
Your article was coherent, defined potentially obscure terms concisely and up front, (city of Ur… I didn’t know, now I do, Lyre… kinda knew now I know) and made it accessible to a wider audience.
Best, though: giving the timestamp to just hear the thing. I think a lot of us are tired of getting linked videos and having to sift though a 29 minute video to just… see the thing. Tired enough that I’ve stopped watching the linked videos entirely (they are usually sponsored look-at-me low value anyway), and honestly frequent HaD a lot less than I used to because of these and a few more reasons.
Anyway, thanks again and HaD editors- take note. This is how you do it well.
I’ve seen other museum reproductions of this instrument.
There’s a rumor (widely discounted, but implied on the descriptive card at the museum) that the instrument was played in a sexual pose. Sumerian culture had a number of fertility rituals, and this instrument might have been involved in one.
The instrument and the carved onyx chalice with paper-thin sides are the two items that stood out on that day.
Great job explaining and showing details! Voice and lyre so evocative and unearthly. Thank you!
Had to look up a bray harp to see what that sounded like as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24B6pcG2ZZQ
I love fixing up/building old instruments. There’s so many that simply aren’t made anymore, unless you know a particular craftsman who can make you one special.
The cutout indicates hand access close to the bridge. Stopping with one finger at harmonic lengths getting closer to the bridge would greatly extend the pitch range and make tuning easier by harmonics derived from one string to the others.