Sailing off Aswan in a felucca, our Nubian boatmen worked to a 'call and response' chant which was highly evocative of Mississippi Delta work songs, (and also seemed a distant cousin to some British football chants!). The Nubians consider themselves to be direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians, and are extremely secretive about their language, actively discouraging outsiders (including 'regular' Egyptians) from learning it. I cannot imagine that these songs have changed a great deal over the millennia, but of course state and religious music must have been very different.

The tomb of Rameses IV in the Valley of the Kings clearly depicts two harp players, so perhaps there's a starting point there.....