Listen to a 4500-Year-Old Instrument

Music is as old as civilization, so it's no surprise that the musical instruments of ancient Mesopotamia don’t look quite like the rock ’n’ roll equipment of today. Take the Lyre of Ur, for instance. Thought to be one of the earliest stringed instruments in the world, it looks like a cross between a harp and a sailboat, and sounds like giant rubber bands being strummed. 

The lyre was discovered in modern-day Iraq in 1929, and it dates back to around 2550 BCE. In 2003, a nonprofit recreated the ancient instrument using wood from the same region, gold of the same quality used at the time, and similar adhesives as the original.

Now, you can relive history with a CD of the instrumental music from the Gold Lyre of Ur.

[h/t: Boing Boing]

Banner image screenshot via YouTube