Bone Pipes with an Unknown Sounding Mechanism
The majority of bone pipe finds from this period do not display features such as a window to suggest how these bone pipes may have been sounded. These could also have been sounded as flutes: duct and end-blown, reed pipes, or even with a trumpet-style mouthpiece. The videos of recreations below show how these examples could have been sounded by reeds or as flutes.
Date: Saxon
Bone: Goose Ulna (Wing bone)
Location Found: Melbourne Street, Southampton
Type of Site: Urban
While fingerholes on some bone pipes are round, this example has a square/rectangular shaped fingerhole with the edge of a second which appears to be round. There are cuts potentially marking out where the fingerholes should go. The relatively crude and random shape of the fingerholes is a characteristic seen on a number of bone pipes.
This bone flute is currently held in the collection of Southampton City Council.
Date: Middle Saxon
Bone: Goose Tibiotarsus (leg bone)
Location Found: Stoner Motors, Southampton
Type of Site: Urban
The random size, shape and placement of fingerholes is evident on this bone pipe. The relative small size of these fingerholes means it is possible this instrument was not finished, perhaps being someone just testing making a bone pipe or thrown away due to something going wrong.
This bone flute is currently held in the collection of Southampton City Council.
Date: Saxon or c.1110 AD
Bone: Ovicaprid Tibia? (Leg Bone)
Location Found: Wolvesey Palace, Winchester
Type of Site: Elite
Found in spoil (the excavated material) from a foundation trench made when the West Hall was constructed in c.1110, it is unknown whether this bone pipe dates from then or earlier. If it does date from 1110, that is soon enough after 1066 that it may have represented bone pipes from the Anglo-Saxon period.
This bone pipe is one of few to feature decoration, with what has been described as an unusually neat fingerhole. Given this, and reed pipes potentially having neater, more rounded fingerholes, it is possible this pipe was sounded by a reed, perhaps further evidenced by the rounded end of the pipe being the right size and shape to take a reed. If this was sounded by such a mechanism, it would suggest reed pipes were found across different areas of the British Isles, and not concentrated in the East of the country.
This bone flute is currently held in collection of the Winchester Historic Resources Centre.
Date: 975-1100 AD
Bone: Swan Ulna (Wing Bone)
Location Found: Clifford Street, York
Type of Site: Urban
The smooth surface on this bone pipe suggests the pipe was used a lot. Use-wear analysis can help establish how much the bone pipes have been used. This may be assessed using a microscope. The more use wear there is on a find, the more it was used and consequently potentially represents a pipe which was either enjoyed for entertainment or found to be useful for a practical purpose. If there is very little, or no use wear, it may suggest the pipe had limited, if any, use and potentially a pipe which either didn’t work when finished, was found to not work as expected, or went wrong/was being used as a test. Through assessing this it may be possible to establish what, if anything, was desired in a bone pipe at the time.
As with many of these bone pipes of an unknown type, this example could have been sounded in multiple ways. The videos show the instrument used as both a reed pipe and a duct flute – try watching the videos in both the woodland setting and open area and listen to the differences in the sound.
This bone pipe is currently held in the collection at the York Museum and Gardens.
Bone pipe from Clifford Street, York recreated as a reed pipe and played in woodland.
Bone pipe from Clifford Street, York recreated as a reed pipe and played in open countryside.
Bone pipe found at Clifford Street, York played as a duct flute in woodland.
Bone pipe found at Cliffor Street, York played as a duct flute in open countryside.
Date: 900-932 AD
Bone: Goose Ulna (Wind Bone)
Location Found: The Sessions House, Lincoln
Type of Site: Urban
The three fingerholes on this example, are about a cm apart and are relatively similar in shape and size. The distance from the fingerholes to the end of the broken part is greater than that between the fingerholes, suggesting that either there were only three fingerholes (the most common number on bone pipes) or that the fingerholes were in groups, although the lack of evidence on other specimens for this would suggest this is not the case.
This bone flute is currently held in The Collection, Lincoln.
Date: 1000-1100 AD
Bone: Sheep Tibia (Leg Bone)
Location Found: Wicken Bonhunt, North-West Essex
Type of Site: Rural
Found on the site of what, at the time of the bone pipe, would have been a farm, this pipe, unlike many of the other examples, features a hole on the side in addition to those on the front. It is unknown the exact purpose of the hole on the side. Experimentation showed that it could be used as an additional fingerhole (watch the videos), but the positioning and ease with which this was done made such a purpose unlikely. It would appear more likely it was used to suspend the instrument and potentially to carry it around a person’s neck or on a belt. If it was carried in such a way, while the videos show the bone pipe could have been played as a reed pipe or duct flute, due to the ease with which a reed may fall out, it is more likely the pipe was played as a duct flute. When played as a duct flute the sound could travel up to nearly 500m. The location, ease with which the pipe could have been carried using the suspension hole, and distance over which the sound could travel, suggests the pipe was most likely used as a duct flute.
This bone flute is currently held in the saffron Walden Museum Collection.
The bone pipe from Wicked Bonhunt recreated as a duct flute, played in woodland.
The bone pipe from Wicked Bonhunt recreated as a duct flute (shown with a piece of string through the suspension hole), played in open countryside.
The bone pipe from Wicked Bonhunt recreated as a reed pipe, played in woodland.
The bone pipe from Wicked Bonhunt recreated as a reed pipe, played in open countryside.
Date: 1000-1299 AD
Bone: sheep tibia (Leg Bone)
Location Found: Spitalfields Ramp, London
Type of Site: Urban
This bone pipe has what could be a suspension hole or a window – it is easy to mix these up and also the fingerholes which helps to explain why confusion occurs and bone pipes are often immediately categorised as flutes. If a suspension hole, this bone pipe may be similar to the bone pipe from Wicken Bonhunt, but with a suspension hole on a different side. Similar to that instrument, it would have allowed for easy carrying and potentially mean that, due to not needing to attach the additional part of a reed, the original object was played as a flute, either end blown or duct.
This bone flute is currently held in the Museum of London Archaeology Collection.
Date: 966-1200 AD
Bone: Sheep Metatarsal (Leg Bone)
Location Found: Pinners’ Hall, London
Type of Site: Urban
It is not entirely known why certain bones were used. Bird bones have thinner walls, making them easier to work, but both these and mammal long bones, once the bone marrow has been removed, form hollow tubes. While the reason for choice of bone is unknown, the bones used are similar to those from meat eaten. Given this, it may be the case that, for at least some of these instruments, that they were made from what was left, rather than killing animals and seeking specific bones.
This bone flute is currently held in the Museum of London Archaeology Collection.
Date: 975-1100 AD
Bone: Crane Tibiotarsus (Leg Bone)
Location Found: Clifford Street, York
Type of Site: Urban
This bone pipe is currently held in the collection of York Museum and Gardens.
Date: Pre-1400
Bone: Bird Ulna (Wing Bone)
Location found: Seacourt, Berkshire
Type of Site: Rural
Having been found in an unstratified context, this fragment of bone pipe, cannot be securely dated, beyond pre-1400.
This bone pipe is currently located in the Ashmolean Museum Collection, Oxford.
Date: Medieval/Post-Medieval
Bone: Sheep Tibia (Leg Bone)
Location found: Wharram Percy, North Yorkshire
Type of Site: Settlement-Rural
Disturbance of the site makes dating difficult - this bone pipe might be from the Anglo-Saxon period or later. Like on many of the other examples, the fingerholes were made with a knife. Using this tool, which would have been accessible to many of the people living in the British Isles during this period, this would have been an instrument accessible to most, if not all people. This is reflected in the range of sites , in which bone pipes are found.
This bone pipe is currently held at the English Heritage, Helmsley Archaeology Store.
Date: Medieval
Bone: Sheep Tibia (Leg Bone)
Location Found: Wharram Percy, North Glebe Terrace, North Yorkshire
Type of Site: Rural
Disturbance of the site makes dating difficult - this bone pipe might be from the Anglo-Saxon period or later.
This bone pipe is currently held at the English Heritage, Helmsley Archaeology Store.
Date: Medieval/Post-Medieval
Bone: Sheep Tibia (Leg Bone)
Location F
ound: Wharram Percy North Manor, North Yorkshire
Type of Site: Rural
Disturbance of the site makes dating difficult - this bone pipe might be from the Anglo-Saxon period or later.
This bone pipe is currently held at the English Heritage, Helmsley Archaeology Store.
Date: 1066-1199 AD
Bone: Crane Ulna (Wing Bone)
Location Found: Brook Street, Winchester
Type of Site: Urban
This bone flute is currently held in collection of the Winchester Historic Resources Centre.
More information on how these bone pipes may have been sounded, particularly focusing on the Clifford Street and Wicked Bonhunt bone pipes can be found in the following article:
Taylor, L. 2021 Early Medieval Bone Pipes: Understanding the Sounds of These Instruments through Reconstruction, Exarc, 4. To view this article click here.
To continue exploring the wind instruments, click here.