What it is: A decorated wooden harp or lyre found in an elite ... these harps are the world's oldest stringed instruments ever discovered. Queen Puabi's lyre was made of wood, most of which ...

The lyre was invented by the Sumerians of ancient Iraq around 3200 BCE. Its design was developed from the harp by replacing the single bow shape with two upright arms joined by a crossbar, and the ...

For centuries, the instrument's music has accompanied ... but it has slowly returned. Resembling a harp or a large lyre, trapezium-shaped and about a metre tall, it has 10 strings ...