An \u201cextraordinary\u201d iron age war trumpet that may have links to the Celtic tribe led by Boudicca in the period they were battling the invading Roman army has been discovered by archaeologists in Norfolk.<\/p>\n
The bronze trumpet or carnyx<\/a> is only the third ever found in Britain, and the most complete example discovered anywhere in the world. 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<\/a> in battle.<\/p>\n It was found last summer, during excavations ahead of a new housing development in west Norfolk, among a collection of iron age military objects, which also included a bronze boar\u2019s head battle standard \u2013 a unique find in Britain \u2013 and five shield bosses.<\/p>\n Tantalisingly, the area where the hoard was discovered falls within the territory of the Iceni, the British tribe that in AD 60 staged a fierce but ultimately doomed rebellion<\/a> led by Boudicca<\/a> against the Roman army. Archaeologists believe the hoard was buried at some point in the first century AD.<\/p>\n The bronze boar head battle standard. Photograph: Historic England<\/p>\n Mark Hinman, chief executive of Pre-Construct Archaeology<\/a>, whose experts made the discovery, said the hoard was \u201ca once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-a-career find. I\u2019ve been doing archaeology for over 40 years and I\u2019ve never seen anything like this.\u201d<\/p>\n While the artefacts are sensational in themselves, their possible connection to one of the few named figures of the British iron age make the find even more special, he said. \u201cWe are absolutely within the heartland of the Iceni \u2013 whether it was they who buried the hoard or not, we just don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n \u201c[But] almost certainly the items were buried in the first century AD, and that brings us closer to the Iceni and to Boudicca. They are of such quality that \u2026 any important people from the Iceni and other groups would have known these objects.\u201d<\/p>\n The fragile artefacts are still undergoing conservation work before they can be examined in detail, but the potential link to the Iceni \u201cis an obvious question and one that we will definitely be focusing on once we\u2019re able to get closer to the objects,\u201d said Hinman.<\/p>\n A number of Greek and Roman writers described warrior tribes in Britain, Gaul and elsewhere sounding carnyces to terrify their enemies. \u201cTheir trumpets are of a peculiar barbarian kind; they blow into them and produce a harsh sound<\/a> which suits the tumult of war,\u201d the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote<\/a> in the first century BC. The Gundestrup cauldron<\/a>, found in Denmark and dating from the same period, depicts<\/a> three players holding their horns aloft.<\/p>\n A detail of the Gundestrup cauldron showing three players holding their horns aloft. Photograph: Werner Forman\/Universal Images Group\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Part of a boar\u2019s head carnyx, until now the only surviving example in Britain (after another was melted down by antiquarians<\/a>), was discovered in 1816 in Moray, northern Scotland; it is now in the National Museum of Scotland (NMS).<\/p>\n Fraser Hunter, iron age and Roman curator at NMS and a leading authority on carnyces, described the new find as \u201cextraordinary\u201d and said it would \u201cadd enormously to our understanding of the iron age world. I\u2019ve looked at carnyces from around Europe, and the full research and conservation of these incredibly fragile remains will reshape our view of sound and music in the iron age.\u201d<\/p>\n The newly discovered carnyx shows signs of repair, said Hinman, indicating it was in use over a long period. While it was partially dismantled before being buried, with the shield bosses placed carefully on top, \u201cthe whole of the bell and the head are relatively complete \u2013 and it\u2019s the only one that\u2019s ever been found where they haven\u2019t taken the ears off. It\u2019s got these great big flappy ears which are wonderful, and they\u2019re still in place.<\/p>\n \u201cObjects like this remind us how little we know about so many different aspects of our past. These objects had names, people thought they were imbued by power. They may even have thought that they were alive at certain times in their existence \u2013 and all of the stories that go with them are lost.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking at the carnyx, he said: \u201cIt\u2019s hard to describe, but you kind of feel like it\u2019s looking back at you. It\u2019s quite a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Currently in the care of conservation experts at Norfolk Museums Service, the hoard\u2019s legal status currently sits with a coroner who will decide on its future<\/a> according to the Treasure Act 1996<\/a>.<\/p>\n