#Syria… a milestone in audiovisual heritage Oct 27, 2013 #Damascus, (#ANA)- World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, marked on 27th October, aims to raise awareness of the importance of audio and visual documents of heritage of which Syria forms a milestone since ancient times. Deputy Director of Laboratory Department at the Archeology and Museum Directorate, Mahmoud al-Sayyed, said in a statement to SANA that the scientific data and archeological findings show that the statue of Ornina, the first singer of temple in the old world, was found in Syria. He added that the oldest scene of an orchestra of 26 players and the oldest full musical note engraved in cuneiform in an earthen tablet were also uncovered in Syria. Al-Sayyed pointed out that archeological statues, wall murals, embossed sculpture boards, remains of musical instruments and old inscriptions which have been unearthed in Syria are among its most important sources to know about the types, shapes and features of musical instruments and understand the musical scale. He highlighted that the archive of the Kingdom of Mari on the right bank of the Euphrates river is one of the richest and most significant written source dated back to the Bronze age that provides insight into the situation of music and musicians and the royal palaces training centers at that time. Syria is also home to the oldest orchestra scene that was disclosed in the archeological site of Tal al-Hariri and which shows the diversity of the musical instruments used in the kingdom and indicates the development of joint musical playing and tunning. Al-Sayyed clarified that this scene marked a new stage of the development of music in terms of the emergence of orchestras and paving the way for musical notes. He made clear that the most remarkable music innovation which the Syrians have offered the human civilization is represented in the oldest full musical note engraved in an earthen tablet containing four verses written in cuneiform, which are followed by six lines naming the Babylonian music dimensions. The tablet was unearthed during excavation works in the ruins of the Kingdom of Ugarit in Lattakia between 1950-1955 and dates back to the Late Bronze Age in the 14th century B.C.. The flute, lyre, drum, rebeck and the lute were among other musical instruments proven to have been used in Syria since early periods as indicated by the archeological sculptures and cuneiform inscriptions discovered in several sites. sana.sy/eng/28/2013/10/27/509309.htm
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 00:38:58 +0000