Oldest instrument is dug up in Skye cave

[MichaelMcGuire]

Sunday 26 February 2012 00:03

THE remains of what could be the oldest stringed instrument to be found in Europe have been discovered in a remote cave on Skye.

The burnt fragment was dug up last year during an archaeological project. It is believed to be at least 1,500 years old and pre-dates any similar item previously found on the continent.

The artefact, which resembles a bridge of an early stringed instrument, was unearthed in Skye’s High Pasture Cave – a focus of Bronze Age and Iron Age research since 1972 – and is currently being examined by experts at Historic Scotland.

Rod McCullagh, a Historic Scotland Archaeologist, said: “The cave has provided many fascinating discoveries, including a burnt fragment of a small wooden object that we have asked experts to study as it appears to be the bridge of a stringed instrument.”

Until now the oldest stringed instruments found in Europe have been lyre harps dated around 600AD, which were played by Vikings throughout Scandinavia.

However most of the artefacts discovered at the High Pasture Cave are much older, with many of the finds dating back to the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, up to 2,000 years earlier.

Until now it was believed that the only instruments made during that time were flutes, pipes and bronze instruments such as crudely fashioned trumpets. But the Skye instrument could date from around 500 AD and may have been left there by later inhabitants of the caves.

More: Scotland on Sunday

[The Straight Story]

1. I thought it said Skype cave

[Summer Hathaway]

2. And after 1500 years

you can still hear the sustain.

[CAPHAVOC]

23. Its a Gibson.

Built by one of Les Pauls ancestors.

[Fawke Em]

32. Yeah, but does it go to 11?

[mia]

3. Brings tears to my eyes.

I love Archaeology.

[nenagh]

8. Me too..

So thank you for posting this...

[Little Star]

28. Ditto.

[mia]

4. Rec because I wish that the news would be filled with articles like this

instead of the latest inhumane atrocity.

[asjr]

5. Oh, so do I. I don't feel watching

and listening to wannabe dictators is very enlightening. Enough already!

[Angry Dragon]

6. Peaceful news

[trusty elf]

7. A burnt fragment of a stringed instrument?

Hmmmm, must have been one of Jimi's ancestors.



[IMG][/IMG]

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. Stringed instruments were common 3000BC / Egypt & Sumer

Seems that international trade finally caught up to the highlands

[MichaelMcGuire]

13. It is probably the ancestor of what we call "Clàrsach"

Clàrsach

Below is a remake of one of the oldest surviving clarsach that of Patton Queen Mary Harp.

[Motown_Johnny]

10. Isn't "Rush" the official band of DU3?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018281

^snip^


LynneSin

NEW DU3 RULES: The official band of DU3 will now be Rush

all those oppose can kiss my ass!

I'm a little disappointed that this has not already been posted.

[immoderate]

29. The Chipmunks on acid...

--imm

[intaglio]

11. Arrrggghhh - Newspaper history

These remains are not the oldest instrument, they are not remains of the oldest stringed instrument or the oldest bridged, stringed instrument. They are not even the oldest, bridged stringed instrument for which there is evidence in Europe. FFS the Romans were European and had strung and bridged instruments. The Chinese have found bridged and unbridged instruments dating back much much further and literary references go back further than the finds. There are Egyptian frescoes of lute like instruments dating back to the Middle Kingdom (round 1350 BCE).

[MichaelMcGuire]

12. Generally I agree with your remarks on newspaper history BUT

Last edited Sun Feb 26, 2012, 02:12 PM - Edit history (1)

Its referring to the oldest surviving remains found in Europe.

<edit> on second thoughts your probably right <edit>

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. I also wonder if they haven't said AD when it should be BC

The newspaper article says it was dug up 'last year', but it was actually found in 2010:

However, it is the wooden finds I will return to, which included fragments of shaped hazel rods (possible hazel uprights for a wattle fence or the supports for a clay tower funace; flat and shaped pieces of wood; fragments from a possible wooden bowl; and most impressive of all the wooden bridge from a musical instrument......most likely a lyre.

If this is indeed the bridge from a lyre, and it does look almost identical to similar finds from these instruments from Anglo-Saxon graves such as Sutton Hoo (although these finds are from a thousand years later), then it would be one of the earliest finds from one of these instruments in Britain. The deposits from which the bridge was recovered date to around 450 to 550BC, which may fit nicely with the tuning pegs recovered in a cache from Bone Passage (within the cave in depositsalso dating to around 500BC). A tentative reconstruction of the bridge fragment would indicate a six-stringed instrument, while the cache of tuning pegs also contained six pegs.

http://www.high-pasture-cave.org/index.php/news/comments/181/

It's possible that some dating after that moved it to 500AD, but, since the article says "we have asked experts to study it", that implies there hasn't been a careful study of it yet.

The Sutton Hoo bridge, and a reconstruction of the instrument:



Note that the clarsach you show in another reply doesn't appear to have a bridge.

[MichaelMcGuire]

19. Thanks for the research

I'm no expert on these matters. Its just a casual interest.


ps I said that this find could be the ancestor of a clarsach. I have no proof that it is thou, other than they are both harps.

[Crabby Appleton]

33. and Ancient Greece

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phorminx

[boppers]

14. Why did I guess this was Scotland?

Why are some racist stereotypes reinforced constantly?

[MichaelMcGuire]

16. I'm not sure I get you?

[boppers]

18. It's a stereotype.

'Scots think they invented".... whatever. Close to everything, really.

I'm Polish/Ukrainian/English/Scots/Irish/German, and most groups seem to claim *some* amount of "hey, we invented that", but the Scottish side of my family takes it to a whole new level.

An example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_inventions_and_discoveries

[MichaelMcGuire]

20. Theres no mention of the harp being invented in Scotland.

Like the bagpipe it was popular elsewhere in Europe, and farther afield.

Scots did invent a great deal of items, that isn't disputed as your link shows.

(Its book marked btw)

[boppers]

21. Point -------->

You.

[MichaelMcGuire]

22. Well since most groups blow their own trumpet, I doubt very much that Scots should be exempt nt

[xchrom]

24. du rec. nt

[XemaSab]

25. Well I know what my ancestors were doing a few thousand years ago

[LiberalEsto]

26. "The only instruments" should include drums, in my opinion

Drums were probably some of the earliest instruments.

[whistler162]

27. And Keith Richards is happy....

to have is first instrument found!

[MichaelMcGuire]

30. kick

[leveymg]

31. Belongs to the world's oldest rock star>

or else this one: