Carnyx - the psychological weapon of the ancient Celts

In ancient wars, along with conventional weapons, psychological weapons were often used. Frightening-looking objects, and musical instruments that make frightening sounds, were commonplace in the armies of Europe, Asia and both Americas. Such a non-lethal weapon was especially effective if it combined demonic design and overwhelming volume. This is exactly what the carnyx was - the fighting wind instrument of the ancient Celts.

Despite the fact that the carnyx is considered a Celtic invention, this tool was distributed throughout the European continent. It is known for sure that it was used by the Dacians who lived on the territory of modern Romania. Archaeologists also found images of similar pipes on one of the Buddhist bas-reliefs in distant India.

At the base of the carnyx was a thin bronze tube over 3.5 meters long. In the lower part, the pipe ended with a mouthpiece, and in the upper part there was a semblance of a bell, often in the form of a boar's head. Unfortunately, not a single ancient carnyx has been completely preserved, and archaeologists have only numerous fragments of the instrument at their disposal. But, considering them, scientists suggested that the upper decorated part of the carnyx was equipped with a movable tongue that creates strong vibrations.

They played the carnyx, holding it vertically. At the same time, he significantly towered over the warriors. The task of the wind instrument was to create maximum noise and chaos on the battlefield, which would unbalance the enemy, who was unaccustomed to such noise.

The sound of the carnyx actually affected the enemies. This was written by the Greek historian Polybius, who lived in the 2nd century BC. The Greek was surprised when he saw a large number of menacing looking pipes over the Celtic army. The trumpets roared and the battle cries of the warriors were organically woven into their sound. All this was repeatedly amplified by the echo and created an unbearable disorienting cacophony.

The Roman historian Diodorus Siculus also noted the sharp, piercing sound of the Celtic wind instruments. Anyone who first encountered the roar of carnyxes was overcome by a strong desire to leave the noisy place. I wanted to stop this torture immediately. The Roman wrote that this sound was ideal for bringing confusion into the ranks of the enemy.

No museum has a fully preserved Celtic carnyx. The most complete specimen is the Deskford Carnyx, found in Scotland in 1816. The instrument retained a pipe and a boar's head with several bells. But the artifact is still missing a significant part - the mane of the animal and the tongue.

The last time a carnyx was found was in 2004. Seven fragments of the pipe were in a cache with ritually destroyed weapons. Damaged helmets, swords and animal remains lay there as well. Images of carnyx are much more common. The most famous are crossed trumpets on a Roman denarius dated 48 BC and three men with tools on a Danish Gundestrup cauldron.