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Unearthing a 1,600-year-old flute

Hear an incredible recreation of the 'spectacular' instrument excavated near Broadway, Worcestershire, with an unusual creation made from animal bone.

Worcestershire Archaeology Project Officer Jamie Wilkins led the dig and describes the moment they knew they hadn't 'just' found 'another' animal bone.

Music archaeologist Simon Wyatt tells Alistair Binney how he took the original sheep bone instrument and recreated the sound that people from Roman times might have heard on a day-to-day basis. He added a reed, made from wheat, to turn what would be a duct flute in to a more rounded instrument.

Image credit: Worcestershire Archaeology

Discover more from the dig and this excavation on Digging For Britain, available on BBC IPlayer.

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Duration:

2 minutes

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