Archaeologists stunned as Sutton Hoo item's 'cousin' found in Kazakhstan: 'Groundbreaking'

The lyre was used by musicians as in early medieval Northern Europe, with one of the stringed instruments even being included in the famous 7th century Sutton Hoo ship burial. But now, research has identified another one of these lyres – over 4,000km away in Kazakhstan.

This discovery came after a re-analysis of Soviet-era excavations between the 1930s right up until the mid-1990s.

Back in 1973, these excavations unearthed wooden objects from amedieval settlement in the Dzhetyasar territory, southwest Kazahkstan.

While the Soviet researchers could not identify these objects, recent work has shown that they are musical instruments.

And now, research published in the journal Antiquity has unveiled further information, showing at least one appears to match the type of lyre seen at Sutton Hoo.

Dr Gjermund Kolltveit, an independent scholar from Norway and author of the new research, said: “The artefact was identified as a musical instrument and dated to the fourth century AD by the Kazakh archaeologist Dr Azilkhan Tazhekeev.

“I was stunned by the instrument’s resemblance to lyres from Western Europe, known from the same period.”

The type of lyre is long and shallow with a single-piece soundbox that has parallel sides and a curved bottom.

These are different from the lyres found in the classical Mediterranean.

When the lyre from Sutton Hoo was unearthed in the 1930s it was initially identified as a small harp instead of a lyre.

But since then more, and increasing number of lyres like it have been discovered, like one found almost intact in Trossingen, Germany.

That discovery confirmed there was a unique style of lyre in the region.

Other finds suggest this type of lyre may have come before the Romans, although most examples are from the early medieval period like the instrument from Sutton Hoo.

Dr Kolltveit said: “Until now, lyres of this type—famously known from the Sutton Hoo ship burial and the warrior grave in Trossingen, Southern Germany—are not known outside Western Europe at all.

“As such, the identification of strikingly similar instrument 4,000 km
away is groundbreaking news.”

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The lyre from Dzhetyasar also has a soundbox, arms, and just like its western cousins.

And as its thought to be from the 4th century AD, it also fits within the time frame of the northern European lyre.

Dr Kolltveit said: “[If] it had been discovered in an Anglo-Saxon cemetery, or indeed anywhere else in the West, the Dzhetyasar lyre would not have seemed out of place.”

While the item was discovered thousands of kilometres away from its “cousin”, the find could help tackle the many questions that remain about this type of lyre.

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There has long been a debate about whether is it a unique Northern European development, or if it is part of a wider musical tradition.

The fact that it was found in Dzhetyasar an important site on the Silk Road, the trade route connecting east and west, it could mean that the lyre travelled along this route and could have reached Byzantium, the Levant, or even further east than Kazahkstan.

Dr Kolltveit said: “I hope that we can cooperate with Kazakh archaeologists and bring together a team for a thorough study of this single instrument, which we still don’t fully understand from a technological point of view.”