British archaeologists have discovered a Roman dildo more than 2,000 years old. The object was already found in 1992 and labeled a tool, but renewed research has revealed its real function.
According to The Guardian it is a pleasure club of about 16 centimeters. “It clearly looks like a penis,” the British newspaper quotes one of the researchers. “I don’t know who could have misclassified this. Maybe it was someone who got uncomfortable with the idea of Romans using these things.”
The archaeologists do not rule out that the dildo was part of a statue that people could touch for good luck. The object was probably larger at first, but has shrunk over time.
The researchers also emphasize that the dildo may not have been used only for personal pleasure. In Roman times they could also be used to torture people The Guardian researcher Rob Collins. “We just hope it was used for sexual pleasure.”
An analysis of the object shows that the dildo was used frequently in the past. The ends of the dildo are actually smoother than is normally the case with these very old objects. According to the researchers, this indicates that the object has been used over a longer period of time.
The dildo was found in an excavation in a roadside in the northern English district of Northumberland. Roman clothes and shoes were also found during that excavation. “As far as is known, it is the first life-size dildo from Roman times,” concludes Collins.
