Carnyx The carnyx was a wind instrument of the Iron Age Celts , used between c . 200 BC and c . AD 200 . It was a type of bronze trumpet with an elongated S shape , held so that the long straight central portion was vertical and the short mouthpiece end section and the much wider bell were horizontal in opposed directions . The bell was styled in the shape of an open - mouthed boar ' s , or other animal ' s , head . It was used in warfare , probably to incite troops to battle and intimidate opponents , as Polybius recounts . The instrument ' s upright carriage allowed it to be heard over the heads of the participants in battles or ceremonies . The carnyx was not used by Celts exclusively ; its use is attested for Dacia , and it was probably common all over Iron Age Europe . Etymology . The word “ carnyx ” is derived from the Gaulish root , " carn - " or " cern - " meaning " antler " or " horn , " and the same root of the name of the god , Cernunnos . This is the name the Romans gave to the instrument . The original Celtic name is unknown . Even under torture , Carnyx players would not reveal the Celtic name of the instrument to the Romans . The plural is " carnyces " or " carnyxes " . Historical record . Archaeology . Until 2004 , fragments of only five carnyces had been preserved , from modern Scotland , France , Germany , Romania and Switzerland , but in November 2004 archaeologists discovered a first - century - BC deposit of five far more complete and well preserved , though deconstructed , carnyxes under a Gallo - Roman fanum at Tintignac in Corrèze , France . Four had boar ' s heads , the fifth appears to be a serpent - like monster ; they appear to represent a ritual deposit dating to soon after the Roman conquest of Gaul . The Tintignac finds enabled some fragments found in northern Italy decades before to be identified in 2012 as coming from a carnyx . The only example from the British Isles is the Deskford Carnyx , found at the farm of Leitchestown , Deskford , Banffshire , Scotland in 1816 . Only the boar ' s head bell survives , also apparently placed as a ritual deposit . It was donated to Banff Museum , and is now on loan from Aberdeenshire Museums Service to the Museum of Scotland . The location and age of the Deskford Carnyx suggests the instrument had a peaceful , ceremonial use and was not only used in warfare . Before 2004 this was the best surviving example , and generally copied in earlier reconstructions . Depiction in sculpture . The instrument is known from depictions on coins and reliefs , notably from Trajan ' s Column and the so - called initiation scene of the Gundestrup cauldron . Literature . The name is known from textual sources , carnyces are reported from the Celtic attack on the Delphi in 279 BC , as well as from Julius Caesar ' s campaign in Gaul and Claudius ' invasion of Britain . Diodorus Siculus around 60 - 30 BC said ( Histories , 5 . 30 ) : Modern reconstructions . The reconstruction of the Deskford Carnyx was initiated by Dr . John Purser , and commenced in 1991 funded jointly by the Glenfiddich Living Scotland award and the National Museums of Scotland . In addition to John Purser as musicologist , the team comprised the archaeologist Fraser Hunter , silversmith John Creed , and trombonist John Kenny . After 2 , 000 years of silence the reconstructed Deskford Carnyx was unveiled at the National Museum of Scotland in April 1993 . In 1993 John Kenny became the first person to play the carnyx in 2 , 000 years , and has since lectured and performed on the instrument internationally , in the concert hall , on radio , television , and film . There are numerous compositions for the carnyx and it ' s featured on 7 CDs . On March 15 , 2003 he performed solo to an audience of 65 , 000 in the Stade De France , Paris . In film . The carnyx is featured in several battle scenes of the French film , " Druids " ( 2001 ) . A carnyx appears near the beginning of the 2012 Pixar computer animated movie " Brave " .