Ancient Musical Notation on Papyrus

Circa 125 CE
The Michigan Instrumental Papyrus, P. Mich. inv. 1205r.

The Michigan Instrumental Papyrus, P. Mich. inv. 1205r.

The Michigan Instrumental Papyrus, P. Mich. inv. 1205r, is a "Roman era" papyrus containing the sort of musical notation used by instrumental musicians in antiquity, about 125 CE. "The papyrus is a fragment from what was probably a collection of melodies for performance, perhaps intended for the ancient aulos, a woodwind not unlike a modern oboe; or, less likely, the ancient kithara, the performance version of a lyre" (William A. Johnson, Fragments of Ancient Instrumental Music).

♦ When I last visited Prof. Johnson's website, in August 2019, I could hear a mid-rendition by an oboist of how the music might have sounded by clicking any line on the reproduction of the papyrus.

Timeline Themes