The modelling process needs extreme amounts of computing power which means it would take about four hours for a computer to reproduce a sound lasting 30 seconds.

But through the use of high-spec technology ASTRA have produced a performance of one of the oldest known musical scores dating back to the Middle Ages.
And their work could have wider implications for researchers around the world, according to the organisation which built the GÉANT2 network used in the project.

Dai Davies of DANTE told Sky News Online: "This implies there are different ways for researchers to co-operate with one another if they are in disparate locations.

"Historically this wouldn't have been possible - it's enabled them to work with one another as a virtual team to develop sound simulation."

Mr Davies said radio telescopes recording views of the sky were another example of how using networks has changed research.

"Historically telescopes collected data on magnetic tape for 80 days, then the tape was shipped to a central computer system in the Netherlands, then loaded on to central computer system, then different signals were correlated," he said.

"We can now provide that in real time with the network we run, so instead of waiting 80 days you can get the results in real time."

The ASTRA team also believes the benefits of the collaborative approach used in the project are far reaching.

They say it allows research data to be shared around the world, making it "a truly international project of immense value to working archaeologists and historians".