Hellenistic scholars credited the ancient Syrians and Phoenicians with the creation of the shrill-sounding Sambuca, which bore a striking resemblance to modern harps. Regardless of its roots, this instrument’s exotic sound made it a popular fixture in Roman, Athenian, and Macedonian ceremonies. Why and when it disappeared isn’t known.
How do you perform a musical composition that calls for a long-gone instrument? You rebuild it, of course. In 1736, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a motet which employed an eight-foot war trumpet called a “lituus.” Likely due to its massive size, the instrument died off shortly thereafter, and no surviving examples are known to exist. However, in 2009, a group of scientists from the Edinburgh University used a combination of written accounts and sophisticated software to produce a few replicas designed to mirror the models Bach might have used.