5,000-Year-Old Musical Instrument Found Near Rome

“The ceramic shell at first appeared to be one of a kind. One hypothesis was that it might have been a cheese strainer. Then, similarities were found with two other objects, found near Naples, that had been convincingly identified as sound boxes for musical instruments.” One doctoral student determined that it was either a bowed lute or a lyre, and she made speculative reconstructions of each, using a copy of the ceramic shell and materials that were available circa 3,000 B.C. (includes sound clips)