Carnyx

A Carnyx is a type of Celtic wind instrument.

There have been very few good examples of the Carnyx found by archeologists, but from the small amount of relics that have been found reconstructions have been created and a relatively accurate picture of the design has been created. The Carnyx is best described as an early upright trumpet. From the examples found, a carnyx would have been decorated in the shape of a boar or a serpent, at its mouth. The instrument would have found its primary use in warfare, as such the shape would have been so that it can be raised over the heads of soldiers. Researchers speculate that it is therefore most likely to have been used as a means by which to intimidate the opposition, or to encourage those soldiers who were in front of the player. Its sound was described by Diodorus Siculus around 60 to 30 BC, when he wrote "Their trumpets again are of a peculiar barbarian kind; they blow into them and produce a harsh sound which suits the tumult of war"

The active use of the Carnyx is thought to date between 300BC and 200AD. While it is most commonly referenced to the Celts of the Iron Age, evidence of use has been found amongst the Dacians and there have been hints of use amongst other groups of Greeks.

Previous to 2004 there were only four examples good specimens of a Carnyx available to researchers. This changed when five Carnyx were found in Aberdeenshire, one of these was the example of a serpents head for a mouth.