Ancient Mesopotamian Music Nineveh, Relief, the Royal Elamite Orchestra, c. 668-626 BCE Upper-chested harps Lower-chested harps Double reed-pipes Drum

Idiophones KRATAL = rattle URUDU NIG-KAL-GA = large copper or bronze bell

KRATEL (?) Ur, Archaic Seal, c. 2800, Bow-Shaped Harp and Clappers, presently held at University Museum, Philadelphia I am connecting these clappers with KRATEL because of the sonic similarity to the later terms krotala and crotala.

URUDU NIG-KAL-GA Nineveh, Horse Bell, c. 700 BCE, presently held in the British Museum

Babylonia, Incantation Bell, c Babylonia, Incantation Bell, c. 600 BCE, presently held in the Berlin Museum

Babylonian Plaque, Kettle-Drum and Cymbals, c Babylonian Plaque, Kettle-Drum and Cymbals, c. 1100 BCE, presently held in the British Museum LILIS-drum and cymbals

Membranophones UB [Akk. “uppu”] = drum SU UB = drum made from skin, leather UB-ZABAR = drum made of bronze BALAG [Akk., Ass. “balaggu”, “balangu”, “palagga”, “pelaggu”] = drum made from two skulls, hourglass drum BALAG-DI [Akk. “tumbuttu”, “timbputu”] = smaller version of BALAG DUB = drumhead made of copper

A-LA / SU A-LA = giant suspended drum LILIS = [Akk. “lilissu”] large (stationary) and small (processional) goblet drums AD-A-PA [Akk. “adapu”]= timbrel with rectangular frame and two skin-heads su ME-ZE [Akk. “mezu”, “manzu”] = tambourine with one head

BALAG-DI Babylonian Figurine, Hourglass-Shaped Drum, c. 2000 BCE, presently held in the British Museum BALAG-DI = small drum made from two skulls

A-LA / SU A-LA Ur-Nammu, Stele, Large Drum, c. 2270 BCE, presently held in University Museum, Philadelphia A-LA / SU A-LA = giant suspended drum

LILIS Erech, Tablet Showing a Vase-Shaped Drum, c. 300 BCE, presently held in Brussels Museum LILIS = large (stationary) or small (processional) vase-shaped drum

AD-A-PA Ur, Royal Cemetery, Plaque, Lyre, Sistrum, and Squre Timbrel, c. 2700 BCE Cartoon on a decorative panel on the front of a Sumerian lyre, Ur, c. 2600 BCE, University Museum, Philadelphia GIS AL-GAR = lyre played by an ass AD-A-PA = rectangular timbrel played by a bear sistrum played by a jackal

su ME-ZE Nippur Figurine, c. 2000 BCE, Large Timbrel, presently held in the University Museum, Philadelphia, PA ME-ZE = tambourine with one skin stretched over the head

Babylonia, Figurine, Small Tibrel, c Babylonia, Figurine, Small Tibrel, c. 2000 BCE, presently held in British Museum ME-ZE = tambourine with one skin stretched over the head

Aerophones TI-GI [Akad. “tigu”, “tegu”] = vertically held reed KA-GI = mouth reed IMIN-E TI-GI = “seven note” reed GI-GID / GI-BU/ GIS-SIR = long reed GI-DIM = large reed NA [Akad. “nabu”] = single beating reed (cf. clarinet) GI-ER-RA / GI-IR-RA = “lament”

S[H]EM [Akk. “halhallatu”] = double pipe GIS HAR-HAR = double pipe made of wood KITMU [Akk. “katamu”] = reed covered by cap of rush, gourd, wood or horn PITU = curved single beating reed DUN-GI GU = “bent pipe” PULLU / MEKKU / KIZALLU = military trumpets

SIM / SI-IM / SI-IM-DA / SI-IM-DU = blowing horn KARAN = war trumpets

TI-GI Sumeria, Archaic Seal, Vertical Flute, presently held in the Louvre Museum, Paris TI-GI = vertical flute

S[H]EM Ur, Older Cemetery, Double Reed-Pipes, c. 2800 BCE, presently held in the University Museum, Philadelphia S[H]EM = double pipe

SIM / SI-IM / SI-IM-DA / SI-IM-DU Carchemish Relief, Large Drum and Horn, c. 1250 BCE, portion presently held in the British Museum A-LA / SU A-LA-drum SIM / SI-IM / SI-IM-DA / SI-IM-DU = Horn

Chordophones AL = harp GIS ZAG-SAL = cross-string harp GIS MIRITU = little harp GIS SABITU = seven-stringed harp GIS PAN-TAG-GA = bow-shaped harp LU GIS PAN-TAG-GA = to “hit” or “strike the GIS PAN-TAG-GA Stringed instruments were especially prominent in Mesopotamian music. We distinguish three basic types -- harps, lyres, and lutes -- although the Sumero-Akkadian documents themselves include a much more extensive terminology. In the construction, the harps have a different length string for each note, the strings being stretched across a frame, either in the form of an arc or an angle constructed of wood. One side of the frame contains a sound-box. The Sumerian harps are typically large in size (about a meter in height) and could include as many as 30 strings. The lyres also have a string for each note, but the strings are all roughly the same length, hence must be tuned by differing tension and diameter. Lyres were typically quadrilateral. Sumerian lyres were also large (about a meter square) and could have as many as 15 strings; their sound boxes were commonly in the shape of a bull, and they were elaborately decorated. The large ritual harps and lyres were played with both hands plucking the strings, whereas the smaller portable instruments associated especially with West Semitic areas (ancient Syria-Palestine) or with Anatolia (ancient Turkey) were usually strummed with a plactrum. The different shapes and sizes were held in different positions -- horizontal as well as vertical.

HUL [SI-SA] = upright harp GIS AL-GAR = lyre SINNITU = lute SA-LI-NE-LU = psaltery

GIS PAN-TAG-GA Bismya, Vase, c. 3200 BCE, presently held in the Istambul Museum A reproduction of a fragment of the vase appears on the left and a line drawing of the relief on the vase appears on the right. Note the two lower-chested harp players GIS PAN-TAG-GA = Small Bow-Shaped Harp

Ur, Royal Cemetery, Large Bow-Shaped Harp (restored), c Ur, Royal Cemetery, Large Bow-Shaped Harp (restored), c. 2700 BCE, presently held in the British Museum

Assyria, Relief, Lower-Chested Harps, 883-859 BCE

HUL [SI-SA] Sippur, Figurine, c. 1900 BCE, Upright Harp, presently in the Istamboul Museum HUL [SI-SA] = upright harp

GIS AL-GAR Ur, Royal Cemetery, Gold Lyre (restored), c. 2700 BCE, presently in the Baghdad Museum GIS AL-GAR = lyre In the 1920's, the Royal Cemetery of Ur excavations became on of the great technical achievements of Middle Eastern archaeology and now represents one of the most spectacular discoveries in ancient Mesopotamia. Deep within the site lay the tombs of the mid-3rd millennium B.C. kings and queens of the city of Ur, famed in the Bible as the home of Biblical patriarch, Abraham. The tombs date to the period known as Early Dynastic IIIA (2600-2500 B.C.), a high point in the history of Sumerian culture. The renowned excavator of the cemetery was British archaeologist C.Leonard (later Sir Leonard) Woolley. In all, Woolley uncovered some 1800 burials. He classified 16 as royal based on their distinctive form, their wealth, and the fact that they contained the burials of household servants, male and female, along with clearly high-ranking personages. As provided by Iraq's first Antiquities Law, established in 1922, the artifacts were divided between the excavators and the host country. They are currently housed in the British Museum, the University of Pennsylvania Museum, and the Iraq Museum (Baghdad). "Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur" will feature the unique artifacts from Pu-abi's tomb, which constitute the core of the Museum's holdings from the excavations. It will include her personal jewelry, as well as finds from the tomb chamber and burial pits. Additionally, the exhibit will include some of the more striking and important artifacts from other tombs such as a large wooden lyre with a gold and lapis lazuli bull's head; a silver- covered, boat-shaped lyre with a statuette of a rampant stag;.

GREAT LYRE FROM THE "KING'S GRAVE GREAT LYRE FROM THE "KING'S GRAVE." (Left = 40K Right = 39K) Gold, lapis lazuli, shell, bitumen, and wood. Height of head 35.6 cm, Height of plaque 33 cm. The plaque and the head are from the bull-headed lyre. The plaque is constructed of shell and lapis lazuli, and depicts four separate scenes. In the first scene, a naked hero is wrestling two bulls. In the second scene, a dog with a dagger in his belt is carrying a table with meat joints, while a lion follows him carrying a cup and a jar. The third scene shows a boar steadying a lyre, while a donkey plays it as a jackal sits at the donkey's feet. The fourth scene shows a mythological creature with a scorpion's taile and a gazelle holding two plated tumblers like those from Lady Pu-abi's tomb. The bull, constructed of copper, and the plaque are well-preserved.

Ur, Royal Cemetery, Boat-Shaped Lyre, c Ur, Royal Cemetery, Boat-Shaped Lyre, c. 2700 BCE, presently held in the University Museum, Philadelphia GIS AL-GAR = lyre

Ur, Royal Cemetery, Silver Lyre (with original tuning rods), c Ur, Royal Cemetery, Silver Lyre (with original tuning rods), c. 2700 BCE, presently held in the British Museum GIS AL-GAR = lyre

Lagash (Tello), Bas-Relief, Lyre, c Lagash (Tello), Bas-Relief, Lyre, c. 2400 BCE, presently held in the Louvre, Paris GIS AL-GAR = lyre

Ur (Sumerian), Mosaic “Standard” of Ur on the side representing “peace”, 2500-2000BCE, presently held in British Museum Lyre-player with an 11-string lyre. A Singer appears to the Lyre-player’s right. The musical entertainers appear as part of a banquet scene.

SINNITU Susa, Babylonian Boundary Stone, Bas-Relief, Long-Necked Lute, c. 1600 BCE, presently held in the Louvre Museum, Paris SINNITU = lute

Ras Shamra (Ugarit), 15.30 + 15.49 + 17.387 (top=obverse, bottom - reverse), Hurrian cult song with notation, c. 1500 BCE, re-dated in 1999 to 1225 BCE, presently held in National Museum, Damascus See the vinyl record made by Anne Draffkorn Kilmer, Richard L. Crocker, and Robert R. Brown, _Sounds from Silence: Recent Discoveries in Ancient Near Eastern Music_ (Berkeley, CA: Bit Enki Publications, 1976. Another interpretation of this entitled “A zaluzi to the gods” (Hurrian Hymn 6) appears on Ancient Music of the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Greeks, Band 11. The 15th and 17th campaigns excavating ancient Ugarit were carried out between 1950 and 1955. They brought to light three cuneiform fragments that, when joined together, produced a complete tablet, measuring approximately 3 in x 7 1/2 in, and is inscribed on both sides. The cuneiform writing runs from left to right horizontally across the tablet. The first four lines, the words of the song, start on the obverse and are continued around the right edge of the table and on to the reverse. This method of inscribing a tablet is unusual but was, apparently, the common method for these song texts at Ugarit. Only the lyrics, however, are written around the edge to the reverse. After the four lines of lyrics and a double dividing line, six lines of notation are inscribed; these lines do not run on to the reverse, but typically end at or on the right edge. These six lines end at the bottom edge of the obverse. The continuation, the colophon, is inscribed on the reverse, in the usual manner. The left half of the tablet, excavated in the 15th campaign, is in excellent condition, and is a light, cream-colored clay; the right half, from the 17th campaign, is in very poor condition, is dark brownish-gray in color, and very difficult to read, at times illegible. 30 other hymns in the Hurrian language on baked clay tablets have been unearthed at Ugarit.

Ras Shamra (Ugarit), 15.30 + 15.49 + 17.387 (top=obverse, bottom - reverse), Hurrian cult song with notation, c. 1500 BCE, presently held in National Museum, Damascus Transcription of Obverse In the transcription of the song, the words of the song, in Hurrian, appear at the top in four long lines. Then the double horizontal line is shown with two pairs of small angle wedges inscribed between them; this cuneiform sign may indicate the notation “twice” or “double”.

Ras Shamra (Ugarit), 15.30 + 15.49 + 17.387 (top=obverse, bottom - reverse), Hurrian cult song with notation, c. 1500 BCE, presently held in National Museum, Damascus Transcription of Reverse Below the double lines is the musical notation; after that, on the reverse, is the “colophon” or label to the text. What is our song from Ugarit about? We know that it is a Hurrian cult hymn concerning the goddess Nikkal, the wife of the moon god, and it is probably addressed to her. But because our knowledge of the Hurrian language is imperfect, it is not possible to provide a proper translation of the song’s lyrics. The meaning of one phrase is quite clear: “Wes[h]al tatib tis[h]iya” means “You [O goddess], love them in [your] heart” and the closing phrase “Wewe hanuku” appears to means something close to “born of you”.