Research and Design
During 2025, Marco Sciascia, Barnaby Brown, and Ben Hebbert developed a prototype kithara, interpreting a vast array of iconography and synthesizing that evidence with decades of experience (re)constructing lyres and restoring the earliest string instruments found in museums and private collections. The project addresses a long-standing gap between the lyres of ancient Egypt – five of which survive largely intact – and later lyres of Norther Europe, for which the wooden parts have generally decomposed.
Rather than reproducing a single artefact or image, the (re)construction draws on a wide corpus of Roman iconography and focuses on recovering underlying structural and musical principles. These were tested through hands-on making and performance, informed by long traditions of string-instrument construction and by practical knowledge of how instruments behave under tension and use. The result is an instrument conceived for musicians: resonant, responsive, and powerful!
Materials and Making
Each Roman kithara is individually made by Marco Sciascia using native Italian woods, including poplar, maple, and spruce, selected for their acoustic properties and historical plausibility. The body is carved and finished by hand, with restrained decoration inspired by Roman visual culture, and built to balance elegance with durability for regular use.
The instrument is supplied with high-quality strings by Aquila Corde Armoniche, arranged in six paired courses. These strings are made from synthetic gut, chosen for its stability and longevity while closely replicating the timbral characteristics of animal gut, the material that would have been used in antiquity. This allows the instrument to retain an historically appropriate sound while remaining practical for modern musicians.
A course consists of two strings tuned together and played as one. The six-course configuration produces greater resonance and projection than single strings, resulting in a sonorous tone well suited to vocal accompaniment and to both acoustic and lightly amplified performance. A six-note tuning configuration aligns with tuning principles of Boethius, as detailed by Hucbald, enabling the kithara to bridge an evidence gap between repertoires of late antiquity and the early medieval period.
Evidence and Design Decisions
Key aspects of the instrument’s design are grounded in iconographic analysis. Frescoes from Herculaneum and Moregine depict kitharas with curved soundboxes and elegantly arched arms, closely corresponding to the overall proportions of this reconstruction.
For the peg block, the option of six courses of strings is inspired by the cupids fresco, which clearly shows two rows of tuning pins and string spacing that – to us – suggests pairs. Like a Neopolitan mandolin, Greek bouzouki, and bound doublepipes (e.g. the Greek tsambouna and Iranian nay-anban), doubling the sound source has a distinctive acoustic effect, increasing the volume and making the overall tone more interesting. Getting the two strings or pipes perfectly in tune may not be the point.
The modular, box-style bridge is informed by repeated appearances in Roman visual sources, including the Apollo Citharoedus statue in the Vatican Museums and the Orpheus mosaic in the Dominican Museum. This construction allows for controlled experimentation with different bridge behaviours, including buzzing effects known from other historical and living harp traditions.
Other structural elements, including the angled blade used to tension the strings, reflect a combination of visual evidence and practical testing. Where multiple historical possibilities exist, choices have been guided by musical outcome as well as plausibility.
The Lotos Lab kithara is the result of our passion for genuine research, not selecting evidence to fit prior beliefs, but learning something new. Its modular design allows for multiple interpretations, historicist and avant-garde.
The (re)construction process is iterative: each cycle involves designing, building, testing, gathering multi-perspective feedback, then looking again at the evidence with new eyes and new questions. Returning to the evidence with insights born of experience, then improving the design, is the most valuable and rewarding part.
Shaped by performance
The (re)construction of the Roman kithara has developed through use as well as study. Early prototypes revealed practical issues that prompted structural refinements, including strengthening the blade supports after transport damage exposed points of weakness. These adjustments remain consistent with historically plausible solutions while improving stability and durability for regular playing.
A central part of this development has been performance-led testing by Stef Conner, approaching the instrument from the perspective of a self-accompanying singer. This use context has been particularly valuable in assessing balance, handling, and tonal response over extended periods of singing and playing.
The prototype kithara has been used in live performance, including at the Interkeltisches Folkfestival in Hofheim, Germany. Feedback arising from these performances has informed refinements to the instrument’s ergonomics, responsiveness, and projection, ensuring that it functions convincingly in real musical settings. Each subsequent build incorporates adjustments informed by this ongoing performance experience, allowing the instrument to remain responsive both to the historical evidence and to the practical demands of musical use.
Iconography
Join us on this journey of rediscovery and research
The Roman kithara is offered on a research-supported commission basis, reflecting its ongoing development as both a musical instrument and a research outcome. The total contribution is £5,000, payable in two stages:
- £2,500 on joining the project, supporting the next phase of research and development
- £2,500 on completion and delivery of the instrument
Supporters receive a second-generation Roman kithara, incorporating refinements beyond the prototype described above. Prior to construction, we will consult with you regarding aspects of the instrument such as bridge configuration and peg materials, and will take individual preferences into account where this is compatible with the aims of the research. Further customisation may be discussed by agreement and may involve additional cost, depending on materials and complexity.
The contribution includes a fitted hard case suitable for travel, a standard twelve-string peg module and bridge, and consultation during the build process. Feedback from use is welcomed and contributes to subsequent refinements, and we remain available for reasonable adjustments, maintenance, and repair as the instrument settles into use.
Production follows the pace of research rather than a fixed delivery schedule. Lead time is currently around 2 months.
Marco Sciascia is a maker of ancient musical instruments and researcher, specializing in reconstructions based on archaeological remains and historical sources. With a background in goldsmithing, he began combining traditional craft with modern lutherie in the early 2000s to recreate instruments from ancient Europe and the Near East. His playable reconstructions balance historical accuracy with musical usability, meeting the needs of both scholars and performers. Many of his instruments featured in the European Music Archaeology Project, and he has collaborated with major museums and institutions, including the British Museum, Austrian Academy of Sciences, and Turin Egyptian Museum to bring ancient sounds to contemporary audiences.
Ben Hebbert is a world expert in the field of early Italian violins in particular Stradivari and has examined many examples. At the start of his career Ben lectured part time at the University of Oxford while researching the history of instrument making. He is also a master luthier having studied instrument making at the London Guildhall University and is one of the UK’s leading historical violin and string instrument repairers and restorers. Before starting his own studio, he was head of musical instrument making and senior lecturer at West Dean College and he maintains an interest in lecturing and tuition. Ben has worked at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Christie’s auctioneers as European Specialist Head of Sale for musical instruments.
Barnaby Brown is a performer-researcher whose work bridges scholarship, instrument reconstruction, and creative practice. Internationally recognised for reviving ancient polyphonic pipes and early Scottish bagpipes, he combines deep historical knowledge with a passion for performance. His collaborations span universities, conservatoires, and intercultural ensembles, where he shares expertise in ancient musical craft, tuning systems, and vocabelising: how to “sing” the pipes. A co-founder of Lotos Lab, he facilitates creativity bringing ancient soundscapes to life, balancing rigorous research with imaginative artistry.
Stef Conner is a composer, singer, and researcher whose work reimagines the sounds of the ancient world through contemporary performance. Described as ‘brutal but harmonically radiant’ (The Guardian), she combines scholarly interpretation with sonic imagination, drawing on Mesopotamian, Greek, and medieval sources. As a performer, she has toured internationally with The Unthanks, Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening, and Sequentia. As a composer, she has written for ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Ligeti Quartet, and Marian Consort. Her albums The Flood and Riddle Songs have been acclaimed for their fusion of historical language, reconstructed instruments, and emotional depth. She is a Lecturer in Music at the University of York, where she teaches courses in composition, singing, and Early music.