The world’s oldest sex toy was discovered in 1992 in a ditch at the Roman Fort of Vindolanda in northern England. A study published in the journal Antiquity revealed that the sex toy could have been used by Romans in Britain approximately 2,000 years ago.
The wooden penis-shaped object was initially believed to be a tool used to fix holes. The report indicated that it was found with other shoes, dress accessories, tools and craft waste products.
A closer look got researchers second-guessing the purpose of the object. The human body may have been more of an interest to these horny Romans than maintenance repairs. It could’ve done more than fix holes; it may have been an object for self-pleasure.
“It very well could be a sex object and, if it is, it is the first example from the Roman world,” study coauthor Rob Collins, a senior lecturer in archaeology at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, said.
“We shouldn’t be surprised by this,” he added, explaining that Roman art and literature proves that they have used sex toys. “But we haven’t found any examples archaeologically, yet.”
The sex toy is 160 millimetres long and based on the study, it could be the only “non-miniaturized” wooden phallus from the Roman period. The uses are still open to interpretation since researchers believe it could have been used to assert dominance or worn as a pendant accessory.
“The wooden phallus may well be currently unique in its survival from this time, but it is unlikely to have been the only one of its kind used at the site, along the frontier, or indeed in Roman Britain,” Barbara Birley, curator at the Vindolanda Trust, added in a statement.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/20/world/roman-wooden-phallus-sex-object-intl-scli-scn/index.html