The Lyres of Ur or Harps of Ur are a group of four stringed instruments excavated in a fragmentary condition at the

Royal Cemetery of Ur The Royal Cemetery at Ur is an archaeological site in modern-day Dhi Qar Governorate in southern Iraq. The initial excavations at Ur took place between 1922 and 1934 under the direction of Leonard Woolley in association with the British Museum and ...

in modern Iraq from 1922 onwards. They date back to the Early Dynastic III Period of

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

, between about 2550 and 2450 BC, making them the world's oldest surviving stringed instruments. Carefully restored and reconstructed, they are now divided between museums in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Strictly speaking, three lyres and one harp were discovered, but all are often called lyres. The instrument remains were restored and distributed between the museums that took part in the digs. The "Golden Lyre of Ur" or "Bull's Lyre", the finest, is in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in London has the "Queen's Lyre" and "Silver Lyre", and the

Penn Museum The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neigh ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

has the " Bull Headed Lyre". In 1929, archaeologists led by the British archaeologist

Leonard Woolley Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavated in a methodical way, ...

, representing a joint expedition of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, discovered the instruments while excavating the Royal Cemetery at Ur. They discovered pieces of three

lyre The lyre () is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it ...

s and one harp in Ur, located in what was Ancient Mesopotamia and is contemporary Iraq. They are over 4,500 years old, from ancient Mesopotamia during the Early Dynastic III Period (2550–2450 BC). The decorations on the lyres are fine examples of the court art of Mesopotamia of the period. Leonard Woolley discovered the lyres amongst the bodies of ten women in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. One body was even said to be lying against the lyre with her skeletal hand placed where the strings would have been. Upon this discovery, Woolley was quick to pour in a liquid plaster to recover the delicate form of the wooden frame. The wood of the lyres was decayed but since some were covered in nonperishable materials, like gold and silver, they were able to be recovered.

Lyres

A lyre is a musical instrument that is stringed and has a role projecting from the body. There are two types of lyres: box and bowl. Like their names suggest, the box lyres have a boxlike body and the bowl lyres have a round body with a curved back. The Lyres of Ur are box lyres. They were played in an upright position with the strings plucked with both hands. Because of how they were discovered it is believed that the lyres were used in burial ceremonies in accompaniment to songs. Each lyre has 11 strings to play on that would produce a buzzing noise that repeated throughout the song. The musician playing the instrument would repeat the pattern displayed on the lyre.

The four lyres

The "Golden Lyre of Ur" or "Bull's Lyre" is the finest lyre, and was given to the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. Its reconstructed wooden body was damaged due to flooding during the second Iraqi War; a replica of it is being played as part of a touring ensemble. The "Golden Lyre" got its name because the whole head of the bull is made of gold. The eyes are made of inlaid

nacre Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...

and

lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mine ...

. The beard is similar in appearance to the "Great Lyre" and the "Queen's Lyre". The body of the bull was originally wood but did not survive. Its discoverer, Woolley, believed that unlike the other lyres, the body of the "Golden Lyre" would have originally had legs. The "Queen's Lyre" is one of two that Woolley found in the grave of Queen Pu-abi. The "Queen's Lyre" is in height and is similar in appearance to that of the "Great Lyre". The mask of the bull is gold. The eyes, hair, and beard are all made of lapis lazuli and the horns are modern. The shape of the lyre is meant to resemble a bull's body. A noticeable difference between the "Great Lyre" and the "Queens Lyre" is that the "Great Lyre" has a straight forehead where the "Queen's Lyre" curves slightly around the brow bone. It is held in the

. The " Bull Headed Lyre" is 40 cm in height, 11 cm in width, and 19 cm in depth. The shape of the lyre is meant to resemble a bull's body. Its head, face and horns are all wrapped in gold foil while its hair, beard, and eyes are made of lapis lazuli. Below the head is a front panel made of shell inlay set into bitumen. 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. The lyre is held in the Penn Museum in Philadelphia. The "Silver Lyre" is in height and in width. It is one of two silver lyres discovered in "The Great Death Pit". Both lyres were made of wood and then covered in sheets of silver that were attached with small silver nails. The eyes are made of lapis lazuli and the lyre was also trimmed with narrow borders of lapis lazuli. This is the only lyre that is not bearded. Because of this fresh face some believe it is actually a cow rather than a bull. It is held by the British Museum. The

also holds a silver boat-shaped Lyre.

Gallery

File:Bull-headed lyre recovered from the royal cemetery of Ur Iraq 2550-2450 BCE Gold Lapis Lazuli (2).jpg, Head of the " Bull Headed Lyre" File:Lyre detail (Royal Cemetery of Ur).jpg, Plaque from the " Bull Headed Lyre" File:Bull's head of the Queen's lyre from Pu-abi's grave PG 800, the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. The British Museum, London..JPG, Bull's head of the Queen's lyre from Pu-abi's grave PG 800, the Royal Cemetery at Ur, Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. British Museum File:Cow's head of the Silver Lyre, from the Great Death Pit at the Royal Cemetery, Ur, southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. The British Museum, London.JPG, Cow's head of the Silver Lyre, from the Great Death Pit at the Royal Cemetery, Ur, southern Mesopotamia, Iraq. The British Museum, London File:SumerianBulls.jpg,

Master of animals The Master of Animals, Lord of Animals, or Mistress of the Animals is a motif in ancient art showing a human between and grasping two confronted animals. The motif is very widespread in the art of the Ancient Near East and Egypt. The figure may ...

motif in a panel of the soundboard of the " Bull Headed Lyre" File:The gold lyre from the Great Death-Pit, Ur excavations (1900).jpg, The Queen's Lyre from Wooley's published record File:Woolley holding the hardened plaster mold of a lyre.jpg, Leonard Woolley holding the hardened plaster mold of the Sumerian Queen's Lyre, 1922

References

{{Authority control 3rd-millennium BC works 1929 archaeological discoveries Ancient music Archaeological discoveries in Iraq Individual harps Middle Eastern objects in the British Museum Objects in the National Museum of Iraq Ur Sculpture of the Ancient Near East Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)

Lyres

The four lyres

Gallery

See also

References