A tiny cow bone whistle may have been used by ancient Egyptian 'police'
Paul Arnold
contributing writer
Lisa Lock
scientific editor
Robert Egan
associate editor
Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 3,300-year-old whistle made from a cow's toe bone, believed to have been used by police to guard royal tomb workers. The artifact was found in the ruins of the ancient city of Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna) in 2008, but has only now been identified. It is the first known bone whistle from ancient Egypt and offers new clues about daily life and security.
The whistle was found in a small stone building on the outskirts of a workers' settlement known as Stone Village, according to a study in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. This unique find is from a juvenile cow and has a hole drilled through its length.
To test their hypothesis that it was a phalangeal whistle, researchers used digital microscopy and macrophotography to examine the object's wear and markings and compared it to similar objects found worldwide. They also created a replica from a modern cow toe bone. When they blew across the perforated hole, it produced a loud, high-pitched tone. This suggests it could have been used for signaling, perhaps by security personnel.
The research team believes the whistle was used for policing royal tomb workers because of its location. The Stone Village was situated near a royal cemetery, an area known to have been heavily policed. It was also the only object discovered in a building that may have been a sleeping place or station for security personnel.
"This small artifact, when contextualized against the archaeology and landscape of Amarna's eastern border, is a reminder of the potential sensorial and psychological aspects of social control in an everyday setting," commented the researchers in their study.
They ruled out other possibilities, such as the whistle being a musical instrument, because it only produces a single note. They also found it unlikely to have been a game piece, container or figurine because of a lack of wear.
The discovery of a bone whistle at a workers' settlement offers a tantalizing hint that potentially more important discoveries await. While excavations often focus on royal tombs and temples, there's also a lot to learn from sites where ordinary people lived. These places could provide us with fresh insights into everyday life in ancient Egypt. There may also be plenty of valuable information hidden in other previously overlooked items, helping us to build a more complete picture of the past.
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More information: Michelle C. Langley et al, First Identification of Bone Whistle鈥怳se in Dynastic Egypt, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (2025).
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