The pipes had been very carefully produced. The boxwood plank was bored with a sharp-ended tool called an auger to produce the five parallel-sided tubes of different lengths. Boxwood timber of this size is unusual in Britain as it grows very slowly: this piece was from a tree which was 100–200 years old. This fact, together with the skill required to produce the instrument, meant that it would have been an expensive and treasured possession. The accuracy of the size, depth and separation of the tubes would have been vital to ensure that the notes played true. The hole in one corner would allow the panpipes to be attached to a belt with a thong.

Had the pipes been broken before they were dumped in the rubbish pit a thousand years ago? Were they dropped, damaged and then discarded? Whatever small disaster occurred, we can only sympathise with the musician who must have believed the instrument had sounded across the roofs and buildings of Jorvik for the last time. How amazed he would be to find he was wrong!