Roman tuba
Roman tuba
The tuba of ancient Rome is a military signal trumpet, quite different from the modern tuba. The tuba (from Latin tubus, "tube") was produced around 500 BC. Its shape was straight, in contrast to the military buccina or cornu, which was more like the modern sousaphone in curving around the body. Its origin is thought to be Etruscan, and it is similar to the Greek salpinx. About four feet in length, it was made usually of bronze, and was played with a detachable boner mouthpiece.
