A newly discovered Aulos

Abstract

An ancient reed-blown pipe (αὐλός) has recently been acquired by the Museum of Greek Archaeology in Reading University. This article contains a full descriptive account of the instrument, and a brief discussion of its relationship to other surviving auloi.The instrument is designed to be played with one hand, and must therefore have been one of a pair; its especial value as evidence for ancient auloi lies in the fact that it is more nearly complete than almost any other surviving ancient instrument. Two losses, however, are particularly to be regretted; as with all other ancient instruments, the reed has been lost, and (so far as I know) the other pipe of the pair does not survive. So we cannot gain any new information on two of the most vexed questions regarding the aulos—the size and structure of the reed, and the method of playing two pipes together.For convenience of description, this instrument may be divided into seven sections (see Plate 55). Some of these have been put together, not very expertly, in modern times; in particular, the joins at each end of the sixth section (F and G) are badly out of alignment. These divisions have been chosen because they are externally visible; the method of construction will be examined more closely later.