A 2,000-year-old wooden object believed to be a sex toy from Roman times has been discovered in Northumberland by archaeologists.
The wooden object, which was discovered at the Roman fort of Vinolanda back in 1992 was initially thought to be a darning tool, but a new analysis by experts at Newcastle University and the University College Dublin suggests it could actually be a 6.3-inch dildo.
Before you think, ‘how the hell have they come to this conclusion?’ in art and literature from the Roman era it’s revealed that they used dildos, but no life-size examples have been found until now.
The revelation has been made in a paper published in the journal Antiquity. The team believed the ends of the penis were noticeably smoother than the rest of it, which suggested it had come into contact with something over and over again.
The object which measures 6.5-inch wooden object is smooth at both ends, which is one of the clues experts had about its use Dr Rob Collins told Sky News.
The other possible uses for the item were less sexual with one use being a pestle and a third possibility a penis slotted into a statue that a passer-by would rub for good luck.
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Dr Rob Collins, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at Newcastle University, said: “The size of the phallus and the fact that it was carved from wood raises a number of questions to its use in antiquity.
“We cannot be certain of its intended use, in contrast to most other phallic objects that make symbolic use of that shape for a clear function, like a good luck charm.
“We know that the ancient Romans and Greeks used sexual implements – this object from Vindolanda could be an example of one.”
Sky News reported that if this was in fact a sex toy it Dr Collins said it “would be the first of its kind, and that’s always exciting.”
Speaking to the MailOnline, he added: “If the object is a sex toy, we believe it could be the oldest example from Britain.”
Dr Rob Sands, Lecturer in Archaeology at University College Dublin, added that the discovery was miraculous as it was “extremely rare” for items like the Vindolanda phallus to survive this long.
Explaining: “Wooden objects would have been commonplace in the ancient world, but only survive in very particular conditions – in northern Europe normally in dark, damp, and oxygen free deposits.”
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Feature Image Credit: Newcastle University
