Musical instrument, pipe, flute, whistle

Bone pipe or flute. It is clear that the bone has some kind of block at the proximal end which seems to be made of cork (at least it has the characteristics of cork and it is difficult to think what else it could be). For it to work as a pipe or perhaps, more correctly a whistle, the block (or fipple) has to have a breathing slot. The merest suggestion of a slot can be seen with the aid of a binocular microscope, though whether this is a deliberate cut or the product of decay or accident is unclear. The incision is not only indistinct but also seems to be partly formed; there is no way of knowing whether it penetrates all the way through the block to the window. There are no thumb or tone holes and so perhaps, the ‘flute’ should be categorized as a whistle (if indeed there is a slot in the fipple). If the stopped end is a fipple it would be possible to achieve a double octave from this pipe with constant breath, over-breathing and under-breathing – and I imagine it would be possible to alter the timbre with finger pressure across the open end. It could conceivably have been used in the manner of a tabor pipe or drone.Helen Leaf has made a particular study of these objects (see Galpin Soc. Journal) and notes that the ‘earliest of these flutes dates from the fifth century and the latest is post-medieval. There is a peak of occurrence in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They have been found in a wide range of site types; from elite sites such as castles, manor houses and monastic sites, but also from rural sites such as small villages and settlements. Suspected to be still in use in the Urals, Carpathians and other remote places; so dating is problematic.