3,300-Year-Old Whistle Unearthed in Egypt Was Used by Police Guarding Royal Tomb

Archaeologists have uncovered a 3,300-year-old whistle, carved from a cow’s toe bone, and likely used by police, in Akhetaten, the short-lived capital of ancient Egypt now known as Amarna. Pharaoh Akhenaten, the father of King Tutankhamun, founded the city.

The artifact is the first bone whistle ever found in Egypt. Researchers believe it was used by a guard or police officer to monitor workers building a royal tomb. “It is very unique,” said Michelle Langley, associate professor of archaeology at Griffith University in Australia and co-author of the study.

A whistle from a short-lived capital

The Amarna Project first uncovered the whistle in 2008, but it was only recently analyzed. Akhetaten, founded around 1347 B.C., became the stage for Pharaoh Akhenaten’s bold religious reforms. He banned worship of Egypt’s traditional gods in favor of Aten, the sun disk.

The city lasted just 15 years. It was abandoned after Akhenaten’s death, and his son, King Tutankhamun, restored the old pantheon.

🚨 BREAKING: Archaeologists uncover Egypt’s first known bone whistle.

🦴The 3,300-year-old whistle was made from a cattle phalanx drilled with surgical precision.

🔬Microscopic and metric analysis confirmed the perforation was drilled from both ends.

📍The artifact was found… pic.twitter.com/3eH7SB546j

— Ancient Hypotheses (@AncientEpoch) September 13, 2025

Langley described the whistle as “a very unassuming artifact” that nonetheless sheds light on daily life. The bone, drilled with a single hole, fits neatly in the palm. Her team crafted a replica from a fresh cow bone for an experiment and confirmed it worked. The bone’s natural curve allowed the lower lip to rest comfortably while blowing air across the hole to produce sound.

Policing at Amarna

The whistle was found in the Stone Village, a settlement near the Workman’s Village where laborers lived while constructing the royal tomb. Excavations directed by University of Cambridge archaeologists Anna Stevens and Barry Kemp revealed roads and small buildings that may have served as watch posts.

The research, published September 1st in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, suggests the villages were closely monitored. Langley noted the whistle was discovered in a structure resembling a checkpoint, supporting the idea that it belonged to a guard.

Similar practices existed elsewhere. Workers were also policed at Deir el-Medina, the settlement of tomb builders for the Valley of the Kings. Other New Kingdom evidence shows that Egypt employed officers known as the medjay, who were once a semi-nomadic desert group famed for their military skills.

Scenes of law enforcement

Further support for the whistle’s use comes from the tomb of Mahu, Akhetaten’s chief of police. His decorated burial depicts guards holding detainees, sentries along roadways, and officers stationed at what may have been checkpoints. “So, we do know that police were actively guarding the boundary and areas of the city,” Langley said.

A window into everyday lives

Langley was initially reminded of Stone Age European whistles when she first saw the artifact. After ruling out other uses, she and her colleagues concluded it was a whistle — the first documented in ancient Egypt.

“There has been a lot of attention given to the tombs and monuments built by the Pharaohs,” Langley said. “We still know relatively little about the more average person.” Sites like Amarna, she added, are vital because they preserve the stories of both rulers and the workers who lived under them.