Lyres of Ur

They date back to the Early Dynastic III Period of Mesopotamia, between about 2550 and 2450 BC, making them the world's oldest surviving stringed instruments.

In 1929, archaeologists led by the British archaeologist Leonard Woolley, representing a joint expedition of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, found the instruments while excavating the Royal Cemetery at Ur.

They excavated pieces of three lyres and one harp in Ur, located in what was Ancient Mesopotamia and is contemporary Iraq.

[6] Leonard Woolley dug up the lyres from amongst the skeletons of ten women in the Royal Cemetery at Ur.

[4] Woolley was quick to pour in a liquid plaster to recover the delicate form of the wooden frame.

Each lyre has 11 strings to play on that would produce a buzzing noise that is repeated throughout the song.

[10] Its reconstructed wooden body was damaged due to flooding during the Second Iraqi War;[11][7] a replica of it is being played as part of a touring ensemble.

Its head, face and horns are all wrapped in gold foil while its hair, beard, and eyes are made of lapis lazuli.

[14] This panel depicts a figure holding onto a bull's horns above, and animals acting as humans below.

The bull head itself likely represents the sun god Utu, who was thought to be able to descend into the underworld.