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Double-pipe Player
On this ceramic double pipe from Tel Malhata, the musician uses one hand on each pipe to control pitch. Usually women played the double pipe, but in this case, it is a man. This double pipe is…
Conch Trumpet
Large conch-type shells can be used to make music by blowing through closed lips into an opening cut at the narrow end of the shell. Because the spiral-shaped cavity of each shell is distinct, each…
Lyre Player
This detail appears on the right side of a pithos (storage jar) from Kuntillet Ajrud. The seated figure plays a lyre held away from the body. There seem to be four strings, oriented vertically…
Musicians in a Relief from Nineveh
Depicted in a relief from Sennacherib’s Palace in Nineveh, these musicians, followed by an Assyrian soldier, hold stringed instruments against their chests, plucking the strings as they walk. Dressed…
Woman Playing Frame Drum
The drumhead of this Phoenician-style terra-cotta figurine from Shikmona (south of Haifa) is recessed, suggesting that the drum had only a single head. Figurines like this are typically found in…
Cymbals
This pair of bronze cymbals from a Canaanite stratum in Megiddo has a bronze loop set into the center of each cymbal for a finger. The Bible often refers to Israelites using cymbals that undoubtedly…