Roman-Era Warfare’s Sonic Characteristics Are Revealed By The Mouthpiece Of An Ancient Horn -

A mouthpiece from an ancient Roman cornu (Latin for “horn”) has been discovered at the old Roman fort of Vindolanda. The metal horn was a musical instrument used to broadcast orders to the troops during battle.

A Roman cornu, a type of musical instrument used to signal orders during battle, was found at Vindolanda, an archaeological site near Hadrian’s Wall.

Vindolanda (translated as “white field”), near Hadrian’s wall in the north of England, was under Roman occupation from around 85 C.E. to 370 C.E. and is currently an active archaeological site.

The cornu, made of copper alloy, was discovered deep in the silt beneath the remains of a schola, a clubhouse for army officers. It has undergone conservation work during which stratigraphic analysis dated it to 120 C.E. to 128 C.E.

Lituus or cornu, players of curved trumpets, Roman army, engraving from Discourse over the laying out of a military camp and the Roman military discipline by Guillaume du Choul, 1569, Lyon.

A cornu was typically about 10 feet in length and curled around in a “G” shape with no holes or valves. It was carried by a cornicen, or a horn-blower who communicated the general’s order as a series of sound signals.

This Military use is well recorded in ancient Roman art, including on Trajan’s Column in Rome.

Similar discoveries in Pompeii have helped inform experts making modern-day replicas of the cornu in order to try and recreate their sound.

Barbara Birley, curator at the Vindolanda Trust, said that “when you find part of a musical instrument it helps us to build a better picture of not just what the army looked like but also how they sounded.”

Yesterday, a live performance at Vindolanda took place with the musician Letty Scott performing on a replica cornu.

Other objects that have been discovered at Vindolanda include tablets, textiles, and shoes.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Watchdog: Nuclear states modernize their weapons, Chinese arsenal is growing

A report on the world's nuclear weapons says the nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their arsenals and several of them deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapons systems in 2022 STOCKHOLM -- The nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their arsenal s and several deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems in 2022, a Swedish think tank said Monday. “We are drifting into one of the most dangerous periods in human History ,” said Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI. “It is imperative that the world’s governments find ways to cooperate in order to calm geopolitical tensions, slow arms races and deal with the worsening consequences of environmental breakdown and rising world hunger,” he said in a statement. SIPRI estimated that of the total global inventory of 12,512 warheads in January 2023, some 9,576 were in Military stockpiles for potential use which was 86 more than in January 202
Read more

Discover the Valley of the Goldeп Mυmmies: The largest cemetery iп Egypt datiпg back to Greco-Romaп times

Image
The Valley of the Goldeп Mυmmies is the largest cemetery iп Egypt datiпg back to Greco-Romaп times . It revealed aroυпd 250 mυmmies aпd most of them are aristocracies who lived iп the Bahariya Oasis ( iп the Westerп Desert of Egypt), dυriпg Greco-Romaп times . Egyptologist Zahi Hawass observed amaziпg flashes iп 1996 comiпg from the bottom of a hole iп a desert oasis iп Egypt. This resυlted iп the discovery of maпy graves coпtaiпiпg Greco-Romaп corpses, all of which had iпcredible goldeп decoratioпs.   Greco-Romaп mυmmies The Valley of the Goldeп Mυmmies is located 15 miпυtes from El Bawiti, iп the Bahariya Oasis, aboυt 400 kilometers from Cairo. The Middle Kiпgdom is wheп the aпcieпt Egyptiaп kiпgs first became iпterested iп this greeп dot iп the middle of the desert, eveп thoυgh there are iпdicatioпs that a Paleolithic popυlatioп formerly lived there. There, пomads aпd trade roυtes met, becomiпg a defeпsive eпclave of the westerп borders.   Bahariya floυrished mos
Read more

IRS reduces tax return backlog by 80% and is doing better job answering the phone

The IRS has processed tens of millions of tax returns faster this year compared with years past, and getting through to customer service on the phone is slowly improving WASHINGTON -- The IRS has processed tens of millions of tax returns faster this year compared with past years while getting through to customer service on the phone is slowly improving, according to a report to Congress released Wednesday. But there is a huge need to update the agency's information technology services and have more workers answering calls. Still, it’s a vast improvement after years of backlogs and decades of underfunding. The latest update on the IRS from National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins said the agency cut its backlog of unprocessed paper tax return s by 80%, from 13.3 million return s at the end of the 2022 filing season to 2.6 million at the end of the 2023 filing season. And now 35% of calls are answer ed, compared with 11% before. “Overall, the difference between the 2022 filing sea
Read more