The Billingsgate Trumpet Re-examined and Re-assessed

In 1984, during construction of an office building next to the former Billingsgate Fish Market in the City of London, parts of a medieval trumpet were found in thirteenth- or fourteenthcentury river silt by an archaeologist of the Museum of London. Several short articles described the find in the 1980s and 1990s. This article is the first comprehensive assessment of this instrument—the only surviving European straight trumpet from the Middle Ages—since its excavation some 30 years ago. A detailed analysis of the physical structure of the trumpet parts is given as well as an assessment of its function, based on acoustical measurement of a playable reproduction, and a reassessment of its date based on more recent research in the context of the entire Billingsgate excavation project. This article is an enlarged version of a report that will be published in John Schofield et al., London's Waterfront 1100-1666 (London: The City of London Archaeological Trust, projected publication date 2018).