Archaeologists have identified the first known bone whistle from ancient Egypt, a 3,300-year-old artifact crafted from a cow’s toe bone that likely served as a signaling device for police guarding workers at royal tomb sites. The remarkable discovery at Amarna sheds new light on security measures employed during the reign of the revolutionary pharaoh Akhenaten.
The small whistle was excavated in 2008 from the Stone Village settlement at Tell el-Amarna, the ruins of ancient Akhetaten, but only recently identified and studied by researchers from Griffith University. The artifact measures just a few centimeters long and fits comfortably in the palm, making it an easily portable communication tool for ancient Egyptian security personnel notes a Phys.org report.
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