Description

Summary: Worked bone tube, recently identified as being an early Bronze Age musical instrument. It is made from a human femur which has been significantly scraped out. There was a side hole at the damaged end, but this is no longer visible. There is also ancient damage indicative of use. The tube has been carefully finished with a high polish on the surface, suggesting that it was a valuable and highly prized item. It was found with a male inhumation in Bell Barrow Wilsford G58, excavated by William Cunnington in the early years of the 19th century. The other grave goods found inside the barrow include a battle-axe, bronze flanged axe, a unique pronged object, a bone plate, an antler handle, a tusk and a grooved stone.

Research results

Bronze Age Musical Instrument made from Human Bone: This bone object was recently identified as being a musical instrument, made from a human leg bone which has been scraped out to form a hollow tube. There was a side hole at the damaged end, but this is no longer visible. The instrument has been carefully finished with a high polish on the surface, suggesting that it was a valuable and highly prized item. It was found with a male burial inside Wilsford G58, an early Bronze Age barrow excavated by William Cunnington in the early years of the 19th century. The other grave goods found inside the barrow include a battle-axe, bronze flanged axe, a unique pronged object, a bone plate, an antler handle, a tusk and a grooved stone. Radioncarbon dating by the University of Bristol, as part of the project, 'The Power of Relics: Curating Human Bone in the British Bronze Age', suggests that the instrument was not in use for a great duration of time and came from a person that could have lived within living memory of the individual that was buried with it. This may also suggest that the instrument was most likely made specifically for the individual it accompanied. It doesn't seem to be some long-lived ancestral relic. This throws up some interesting questions about why people were only keeping these things over relatively short periods, possibly reflecting the individual passing out of memory. The radiocarbon date given was 1745-1617 BC, contemporary with the other grave goods found inside the barrow.