Rare bone flute made out of goat’s tibia found at archaeological dig, UK researchers say

Lizzo might want to one-up James Madison’s 200-year old crystal flute with this even older flute — recently discovered by archaeologists across the pond.

The rare medieval bone flute was unearthed in late October by a team of researchers in England, according to a news release from Cotswold Archaeology.

The team had been excavating a medieval pit in Herne Bay, a seaside town in southeast England, when they came across the “remarkably well preserved” wind instrument, the archaeologists said. It was found among an assortment of medieval pottery dating between the 12th and 15th centuries.

The instrument was “skillfully created” from the tibia of a sheep or goat, and it features five finger holes in addition to a thumb hole, researchers say. A portion of the mouthpiece might be missing, but the flute remains largely intact.

“Bone flutes and pipes are generally rarely found, but are among the more common types of musical instruments that are known from archaeology,” researchers stated in the release.

It is likely bone flutes were popular and played by a variety of people in medieval England, one researcher argues.

“[I]t seems fair to say that bone flutes were a well known instrument, made with varying levels of skill and ability, and found in sites that reflect their possible use by a broad cross-section of society,” wrote Helen Leaf in the Galpin Society Journal.

The instruments have been dated even far further back than the Middle Ages. In fact, a 40,000-year old flute made from vulture bone discovered in a German cave in 2009 is likely the world’s oldest musical instrument, according to National Geographic.

Researchers have said that ancient flutes arguably helped humans “communicate and form tighter bonds,” according to the outlet.

Research on the bone flute found in Herne Bay is still ongoing, according to the news release. The archaeologist who discovered the instrument was not immediately available for comment.

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