Norfolk is known for its network of rivers and lakes, its stock of medieval churches, and for being the home county of Alan Partridge. Last year, it quite literally unearthed another mark of distinction in the form of an iron age war trumpet. “The bronze trumpet or carnyx is only the third ever found in Britain, and the most complete example discovered anywhere in the world,” writes the Guardian’s Esther Addley. “Fashioned in the shape of a snarling wild animal, the object would have been mounted on a long mouthpiece high above the heads of warriors, allowing it to be sounded to intimidate the enemy in battle.” One could hardly hope for a more powerful symbol of Celtic fearsomeness.
Yet “there are many contradictions” in the longer story of the carnyx, says environmental scientist Paul Whitewick in his new video, “from where it’s been found to its intended use, its depiction on art and coins: none of those seem to make sense.” The most famous head of a carnyx was uncovered in a Scottish peat bog; another came out of the River Witham in Lincolnshire.
In addition to those recoveries from non-battlefield settings, one detailed ironwork panel commonly referenced in carnyx reconstruction presents its use in more of a procession. It also became a symbol on Roman-era coinage, and with an apparently wide range of meaning. Perhaps the carnyx was a war horn; perhaps it was much more.
Wherever the ancients typically broke them out, carnyces aren’t for discussing, but for hearing. None was sounded for two millennia, until the reconstruction of the one found in the peat bog, known as the Deskford Carnyx. The first musician to give it a blow, in 1993, was John Kenny, who’s been known as the world’s foremost carnyx player ever since. He does so in the video just above from National Museums Scotland, which offers not just the instrument’s haunting sound, but a close-up view of its wagging tongue. Kenny, too, believes that carnyces have uses beyond war, and even that “they are more impressive when they are played less loudly.” Still, just imagine how intimidated an enemy army would feel upon hearing a whole line of them sounded at once — to say nothing of seeing all those tongues.
Related Content:
Bronze Age Britons Turned Bones of Dead Relatives into Musical Instruments & Ornaments
Hear a Prehistoric Conch Shell Musical Instrument Played for the First Time in 18,000 Years
Hear the World’s Oldest Instrument, the “Neanderthal Flute,” Dating Back Over 43,000 Years
Hear the Trippy Mystical Sounds of Giant Gongs
Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities, language, and culture. He’s the author of the newsletter Books on Cities as well as the books 한국 요약 금지 (No Summarizing Korea) and Korean Newtro. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter at @colinmarshall.
