Seikilos epitaph Monument

Address: National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet), Ny Vestergade 10, 1471 København K, Denmark

Website: https://en.natmus.dk/

Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00am-5:00pm, closed Mondays

Admission: Free admission to the permanent collection

The Seikilos epitaph is an ancient marble funerary stele bearing a complete musical score and lyric from antiquity, dated to the early Roman imperial period. The artifact is widely cited as the oldest surviving complete musical composition.

As an object rather than a site, the epitaph consists of a short text of lyrics and notated melody carved onto a cylindrical or rectangular tombstone; the notation preserves both pitch and rhythmic indications used in ancient Greek music. It is primarily of interest to scholars of ancient music, epigraphy and classicists rather than general architectural visitors.

The stele was found in western Anatolia near the ancient city of Tralles and is dated to the 1st century CE or thereabouts; it bears the name Seikilos and a short funerary inscription. It was brought to collections in Europe in the 19th century and has been studied as a unique surviving example of ancient musical notation.

The artifact is part of museum collections in Denmark and is displayed in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.

• Musical significance: The inscription and musical notation together form the oldest surviving complete musical composition from the ancient Greco-Roman world, often cited in studies of ancient music.

• The Seikilos epitaph is held in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen-ask at the information desk for its location in the Greek/Roman displays to avoid hunting through galleries.
• Visit the museum on a weekday morning when the galleries are quieter so you can study the small inscription and accompanying explanatory panels without crowds.