An extremely rare part of a musical instrument used by a Roman hornblower has been recovered from the silty mud during excavations at the fort ofVindolanda in Northern Britain.
The artefact was found buried deep (officers' club house) and left with the debris over a Hadrianic-period workshop floor. Dated to AD 120-128, it measures approximately 17cm (7 in) long and was cast as a single piece. It has been identified as the mouthpiece of a Roman horn.