Sex toys are increasingly becoming a necessity in people’s lives. You would be surprised that they have been in use and existence longer than you might think.
A nearly 2,000-year-old wooden object in the shape of a penis could have served as a sexual tool by ancient Romans in Britain, according to a new study.
The artifact was unearthed in 1992 in a ditch at the Roman Fort of Vindolanda, near Hadrian’s Wall, which once marked the Roman Empire’s northwest frontier, in northern England. Researchers initially recorded the object as being a darning tool, according to the study published in the journal Antiquity on Sunday.
This misidentification was the result of the tool being found alongside dozens of shoes and dress accessories, and other small tools and craft waste products.
Apart from a carved line at the tip that looks suspiciously like the appendage’s glans, the wooden object is quite smooth, which suggests it made routine, rubbing contact with another surface.
The ancient dildo may not have even been used for penetration. In fact, the signs of wear on the object’s exterior might support clitoral stimulation better.
Other explanations
Archaeologists have put forward three possible explanations for what that surface might have been:
It could have been used as a grinding pestle, specially designed to ‘infuse’ food, cosmetics, or medicine with spiritual properties.
While the tool does look like it could crush soft materials, an absence of staining or discoloration on the object’s blunt end means there’s no easy way to confirm this particular hypothesis.
It’s also possible the wooden object was in fact a penis, one adorning a statue, or put on display outside of a building; a common feature in ancient Greece and Rome. People walking by might then have rubbed the penis for good luck. With no signs of outdoor weathering or of being removed or reinserted into an abrasive notch, this is also an unlikely purpose.
The third and final explanation put forward by researchers is the most interesting to consider: the ancient penis could be a uniquely preserved dildo from the second century CE.
Today, we might be tempted to call it a sex toy, but archaeologists working on the artifact think that that term may not have applied in Roman times.
“Use may not have been exclusively sexual or for the pleasure of the user,” they explain.
“Such implements may have been used in acts that perpetuated power imbalances, such as between an enslaved person and his or her owner, as attested in the recurrence of sexual violence in Roman literature.”
By Wanjiru Mbaru