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Witness History: The oldest song in the world

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The oldest song in the world

04/01/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The oldest song in the world

Deciphering the 3,500 year-old song discovered on a clay tablet in Syria

Deciphering the 3,500 year-old song discovered on a clay tablet in Syria. It became known as the Hurrian Hymn.

A 3,500 year old song was found on a clay tablet by archaeologists in Syria in the 1950s. Often called the Hurrian Hymn, it had been unearthed amid the ruins of an ancient palace which belonged to the ancient Hurrian civilization. It is the oldest complete song ever found. The tablet was inscribed in the Hurrian language but using cuneiform script. Academics have spent decades debating how to interpret the song's ancient musical notation. Alex Last spoke to Richard Dumbrill, a leading archaeomusicologist, who has spent decades studying the tablet and has produced his own interpretation of the song. Photo: The Hurrian song written in cuneiform on the clay tablet H6 (Richard Dumbrill)

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