Ancient Egyptian royal cemetery guards may have relied on an ear-splitting accessory to signal suspicious behavior. In 2008, researchers discovered a roughly 2.75-inch-long cow toe bone inside a building located in a worker settlement known as the Stone Village. Experts identified the bone as belonging to a juvenile animal and documented a single, drilled hole bored through its length. After acquiring a new cow bone, the researchers bored a similar hole and blew into it. Given ancient Egypt’s extensive history of tomb robbing, royal burial sites likely hosted designated security staff that oversaw workers and enforced the law.