Music from Pompeii: Understanding the Aulos Fondo Prisco A+B

Most of the doublepipe (aulos/tibia) remains that were unearthed in the Vesuvian region and are kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples ( MANN ) are still awaiting publication. Addressing this need, a joint project of the University of Pavia and the Austrian Academy of Sciences is documenting the fragments, aiming at a restoration of their original order and a musical interpretation, where feasible. Here we focus on two especially short and therefore high-pitched pipes from the ‘Nine from Fondo Prisco’. We present the individual fragments, try to establish their order on the basis of an old photograph and probable physical joints, discuss the likely design of the instrument, establish the notes it probably played, and propose a harmonic and socio-musical context.