Rare Iron Age war trumpet and boar standard found

Archaeologists are stunned to find two of the rarest Iron Age objects in the same dig. When they first heard the hoard last year, the Pre-Construct Archaeology team was working on a building site a few miles away from Thetford, Norfolk. The most complete battle trumpet, or carnyx, was ever found in Europe, as well as the first-ever boar's head flag standard to be found in the United Kingdom. Carnyces are extremely unusual, senior project officer Gary Trimble told BBC Two's Digging for Britain. a boar standard, that's even rarer".

We have our fair share of hoards in Norfolk, but this is so different, it's really special,

he said. Before the dig began, Dig leader Peter Crawley said he had a gut feeling about the site.

It felt like one of those rare places that you visit every so often,

he said.

Celtic tribes around Europe used a war trumpet to intimidate their opponents and to inspire and direct warriors during war. They included the Iceni tribe of East Anglia, which was led by queenBoudica in her failed rebellion against the Romans in AD60 to 61. Carnyces fascinated Romans, who often portrayed them as war trophies.

The Thetford find was made

from extremely thin sheets of metal that have become extremely brittle after 2,000 years in the ground,

conservator Jonathan Carr said. It was the most complete carnyx ever found, he said, as well as being one of the only three carnyes ever discovered in the United Kingdom, with the pipe, mouthpiece, and bell all intact. I've looked at carnyces from around Europe, Dr. Fraser Hunter, Iron Age and Roman curator at National Museums Scotland, said, and "complete analysis and conservation of these incredibly fragile remains will reshape our view of sound and music in the Iron Age.

The boar's head was made from sheet bronze. It would have been held aloft in combat as a flag and used as brite apex for troops.

They were very tough animals to fight in the hunt,

Hunter said, so the boar's symbolism reveal a lot about the board's tenacity - a particularly strong adversary in combat. Five shield bosses and an iron object of unknown origin were found in the hoard, which dates back to about 50 BC and AD50. Following its discovery, it was carefully lifted out of the earth in a soil block and scanned to find where the items were located before conservation began.

The find was disclosed to the coroner, and an inquest will be held to determine if it is treasure. Its long-term future has yet to be determined. Historic England is collaborating with Pre-Construct Archaeology, Norfolk Museums Service, and the National Museum of Scotland to coordinate the finds' study and conservation.

This find, according to Dr. Tim Pestell, a senior curator of archaeology for Norfolk Museums Service, is a stark reminder of Norfolk's Iron Age past, which, through Boudica and the Iceni people's tale, has the ability to fascinate the British public.

The Norfolk Carnyx Hoard will give archaeologists with the opportunity to investigate a variety of rare items and, eventually, tell the story of how these came to be buried in the county 2,000 years ago.

Itta Kenyatte CBE and Emma Squire CBE, co-CEOs of Historic England, said it was a

remarkable find The pair added, "We look forward to hearing and telling the tale of the Norfolk community that owned and used these items. On Monday, the tale of the discovery will be broadcast on BBC Two's Digging for Britain, or on BBC iPlayer.

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