A vibrator from the time of the Roman Empire has finally turned out to be a wooden ‘tool’ found in 1992 in a ditch of an ancient fortress in Britain.

The 16cm long wooden phallus was originally discovered in 1992 in a ditch at the Roman fort of Vidolanda in Northumberland, on the far northern fringes of the empire.

It was originally listed in museum catalogs as a stake tool as it was found with remnants of clothing and footwear. However, archaeologists now even believe they may have found the only known real-size Roman vibrator – and in fact it was even larger than the 16cm that survived.

“I have to admit that part of me thinks it’s a given that it’s a vibrator. I don’t know who listed it in the official catalogs as a tool. It could have been someone who was uncomfortable with including a vibrator or who thought the Romans didn’t do that sort of thing,” said Newcastle University Archeology lecturer Rob Collins.

ancient dildo

The other theory is that, if the wooden phallus was not used as a sex tool, then the 2,000-year-old object may have been part of a statue that people touched for good luck – a common ritual in ancient R΄psimi.

Also, according to the University of Newcastle, it could be used as a pestle in cooking or to grind medicinal ointments. Its shape would give magical properties to the final concoction.

The find is now exhibited in the museum of the Vidolanda fortress.