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Is it an ancient sex toy, a good luck charm, or a pestle for grinding medicine?
Sex toys can provide pleasure, deeper intimacy, and can even help those with pelvic floor pain, erectile dysfunction, and the effects of menopause. People have also probably used them for much longer in history than we think.
A study published February 20 in the journal Antiquity believes that a nearly 2,000 year-old penis-shaped wooden object might have been a sex toy used by ancient Romans in Britain. It could be the “first known example of a non-miniaturized disembodied phallus made of wood in the Roman world,” according to the study.
Archaeologists found the almost seven-inch-long artifact over 20 years ago in a ditch near Vindolanda, the remains of a Roman Fort near Hadrian’s Wall. The 73-mile-long wall in northern England once once marked the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire.
According to the study, the tool was initially believed to be a darning tool, likely because it was found alongside dozens of shoes, dress accessories, and small tools and craft waste products. It was also suspected that the object may have been used as a pestle or as a charm to “ward off evil,” as phalli were used across the Roman Empire as a way to protect against bad luck. They were usually depicted in paintings and mosaics, and small phalli made from metal or bone were commonly worn as pendants around the neck.
Sex toys can provide pleasure, deeper intimacy, and can even help those with pelvic floor pain, erectile dysfunction, and the effects of menopause. People have also probably used them for much longer in history than we think.
A study published February 20 in the journal Antiquity believes that a nearly 2,000 year-old penis-shaped wooden object might have been a sex toy used by ancient Romans in Britain. It could be the “first known example of a non-miniaturized disembodied phallus made of wood in the Roman world,” according to the study.
Archaeologists found the almost seven-inch-long artifact over 20 years ago in a ditch near Vindolanda, the remains of a Roman Fort near Hadrian’s Wall. The 73-mile-long wall in northern England once once marked the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire.
According to the study, the tool was initially believed to be a darning tool, likely because it was found alongside dozens of shoes, dress accessories, and small tools and craft waste products. It was also suspected that the object may have been used as a pestle or as a charm to “ward off evil,” as phalli were used across the Roman Empire as a way to protect against bad luck. They were usually depicted in paintings and mosaics, and small phalli made from metal or bone were commonly worn as pendants around the neck.
Scientists think they found a 2,000-year-old dildo in ancient Roman ruins
Archaeologists found the almost seven-inch-long artifact over 20 years ago in a ditch near Vindolanda in England.
www.popsci.com