# Numerals as durations (Hagel)

> Still possible: The numerals mark durations, so the notation carries rhythm, whichever way the interval names themselves are sounded.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/answers/ANS0DEDX2P86YH9/numerals-as-durations-hagel  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Hurrian songs of Ugarit](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs)[What do the interval names and numerals in the notation of h.6 instruct a performer to play?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/questions/QST0DEDVBCYE714/what-do-the-interval-names-and-numerals-in-the-notation-of-h)Answer

Answer · Hurrian songs of Ugarit

# Numerals as durations (Hagel)

The numerals mark durations, so the notation carries rhythm, whichever way the interval names themselves are sounded.

**Still possible** Answers **1** question0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** One piece of evidence for, one against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- Across all notated fragments the numerals should favour duple values (2, 4, 8) over 3 and 5 beyond what repetition counts would produce.
- Numeral values should correlate with syllable weight or word boundaries in the Hurrian text where words and terms can be aligned.
- The numeral 10, which occurs in h.6 line 1, should be explicable as a long held value at a cadence.

## What would rule it out

- A corpus-wide numeral distribution indistinguishable from that expected for repetition counts.
- A Mesopotamian text that uses the same numerals after interval names with an explicit non-durational meaning.

## Evidence 1 for · 1 against

[The numerals 2 and 4 occur more often than 3 and 5 in the notation, as duple rhythmic values would.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/evidence/EVD0DEDYMM9K7RT/the-numerals-2-and-4-occur-more-often-than-3-and-5-in-the)

Suggestive

FOR

[No Mesopotamian theory or instruction text records durations by numeral, and the earlier readings of the numerals as…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/evidence/EVD0DEDYNAX3GEN/no-mesopotamian-theory-or-instruction-text-records-durations)

Supported

AGAINST

## The questions it answers

[What do the interval names and numerals in the notation of h.6 instruct a performer to play?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/questions/QST0DEDVBCYE714/what-do-the-interval-names-and-numerals-in-the-notation-of-h)

Open5 answers, none ahead

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Numerals as durations (Hagel) [Answer ANS0DEDX2P86YH9]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DEDX2P86YH9
```

Key

**ANS** 0DEDX2P86YH9

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Proposed

[Session 1](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/hurrian-songs/sessions/SES0DEEADDRHVSZ/session-1-the-hurrian-songs-of-ugarit-seeded-corpus-readings) · 31 Oct 2026

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