The oldest known musical staff was transcribed in cuneiform writing on the lower part of this tablet, under the double line. The six line text in the Akkadian language gives the names of the intervals followed by a number. At present, no one is really sure as to how these numbers should be interpreted or how they might be transposed onto a modern musical staff. Consequently, it is impossible to play the melody that has been transmitted to us in clay. The four line inscription on the upper part consists of the words to a hymn that makes reference to the gods. This is therefore a complete text, with both words and music.
Provenance: Ras Shamra - Ugarit.
Era: Late Bronze Age (circa 1400 BC).
Dimensions: 17 x 6.3 x 2.5 cm.
Photo: Nicholas Randall.
A collection of the National Museum of Damascus.
Michel Fortin, Syria, Land of Civilization. Les Éditions de l'Homme, Musée de la Civilisation de Québec 1999.
ʾIḍāʾāt ʿalā al-Matḥaf al-Waṭanī fī Dimašq. DGAM (Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées de Syrie). Ministère de la Culture, 2006.
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