Pestle or dildo? Six-inch wooden implement may be a Roman sex toy, say academics

Archaeologists at Newcastle University and University College Dublin have conducted new research into the sauciest relic ever—a 6.2in-long wooden phallus which may have been used a sex toy by the Romans. The eye-popping piece was discovered in 1992 at the Vindolanda Roman fort in Northumbria, England, just south of Hadrian’s Wall. But further investigation has revealed the more salacious side to the ancient piece which could have doubled up a dildo.

“This is the first known carved wooden phallus of this size, not only from Roman Britain, but the entire Roman world, as far as we are aware,” Dr Rob Collins, senior lecturer in Archaeology at Newcastle University, told The Telegraph. “If the phallus is a sex object, then it would also be the first known sex object from the Roman Empire.”

The intriguing object, made of young ash roundwood, may have been used as a pestle before becoming a sex toy, or vice versa, add experts. Phalli were indeed commonplace in the Roman Empire as they were believed to offer protection against bad luck.