2000-year-old Roman “darning tool” turns out to be a “woody” dildo now known as the “Vindolanda phallus”

Published February 20, 2023 | By NewsJive.com

When archaeologists discovered the item at the Roman fort of Vindolanda in Northumberland, Britan, back in 1992, they thought it was a darning tool thay had found. But now it turns out that item is in fact a 2000-year-old Roman dildo made of wood.

“I have to confess,” said Newcastle University archaeology senior lecturer Dr Rob Collins, “part of me thinks it’s kind of self-evident that it is a penis. I don’t know who entered it into the catalogue. Maybe it was somebody uncomfortable with it or didn’t think the Romans would do such silly things,” The Guardian reports.

According to Dr Collins, it is not 100% clear that the item was used as a dildo back in the time, but most indicates that this was the case.

“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,” Dr Collins wrote in a statement on the Newcastle University website.

The “Vindolanda wooden phallus” dildo that it is called now, is reported to be 16 cm long. But according to researchers, the dildo was probably larger before, because archaeological wood has a tendancy to shrink over time.

Related news