English: A medieval bone flute dating 11th-13th century. The flute is carved of a tibia, probably from a sheep or goat. The bone is cylindrical, flaring at one end to form a trefoil. The calcareous material in the centre of the bone has been removed. At the flared end, the cork fipple is still in situ creating the blow-hole. Fipples are used to regulate the breath passing through the instrument and are rarely found in place (MacGregor, 1985, 150). There is a square perforation on the shin side of the bone to form a finger-hole.

Similar examples can be found in MacGregor (1985, 149) and are predominantly medieval in date. A further example of an ovi-caprid tibia flute found in Egan (1998, 288, Fig 219) is of 11th century date. Also, a similar example in the Museum of London teaching collections is of medieval date (A22674).

Hazel Forsyth: "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. We (the conservators and Hazel) have looked at the block under the microscope and there is the merest suggestion of a slot, 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.' I suspect they are still in use in the Urals, Carpathians and other remote places; so dating is problematic.

The use of cork for a block is perhaps significant (all of the recorded examples from Continental Europe have fipples of bees wax, wood and, more rarely clay. The medieval port books mention imports of cork but the presence of cork in this piece may suggest an Iberian or Mediterranean attribution - and its presence in London - perhaps a sailor's pipe lost overboard?

The pipe is certainly intriguing but for the reasons given above, I cannot be completely sure of its function. It could be a partially worked item."

Dimensions: length: 153.65 mm; internal diameter at open end: 8.59 mm; blow-hole width: 25.39 mm; weight: 41.19g.

Reference: MacGregor, A. 1985. Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn. The Technology of Skeletal Materials since the Roman Period. Croom Helm, London and Sydney.