When pensioner Paul Shepeard (69) set out on a metal detector hunt with his wife last year, he had no idea that he would make the discovery of a lifetime.
The pair were searching in Haconby, Lincolnshire, when he made the sensational find. That is written by NTB, which quotes Bournemouth News.
Nude bronze figure
When Paul heard the metal detector beep, he dug about 25 centimeters into the ground and found what he first thought was a splinter of steel.
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Upon closer examination, it turned out to be something far more valuable: a naked bronze figure holding “manhood” in its right hand.
DETAILED: Seen from the front, the hinge mechanism and the oversized phallus can be seen. Photo: Shutterstock editorial
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The phallus is attached to the body with a hinge, which allows it to be moved up and down.
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– At first we thought it was a Roman figure, because the Roman soldiers often used phallus jewellery. But the Roman phalluses had no moving parts, he tells the local newspaper Lincolnshire World.
– Rarely
Paul has been a keen metal detectorist for 25 years. Now he has put the great find up for sale at the auction house Noonans in London.
– Finding an item like this is rare. It was exciting to see how the interest in the object was, Paul adds BBC.
It was expected that Paul could earn between NOK 10,000 and 15,000 from the sale. Now the BBC reports that the figure went under the hammer for a whopping NOK 28,000.
He has said that he will use the money to send his wife and mother-in-law on holiday to Kos.
Could be 2000 years
Experts believe the artifact could date from sometime between the year 0 to the year 100, which means it could have been made 2,000 years ago.
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Auction consultant Nigel Mills tells the BBC that the figure was sold to a British buyer. He describes the object as a representation of a fertility god, possibly the Roman god Mercury.
– This male figure, with its hinged oversized phallus, probably had a symbolic power that brought luck and kept evil spirits away. It may have functioned as a locking mechanism, like a belt buckle, to hold a belt, sword and scabbard, he says.
