Archaeologists discover ancient stone penis which had a surprising function

Many a joke has been made about “concealed weapons”, but archaeologists were pretty surprised to uncover a rock-hard penis dating back to the Middle Ages.

The six-inch (15cm) stone phallus was unearthed at the medieval fortress of Torre de Meira in Galicia, Spain, last month.

Sexually suggestive artefacts were common in the ancient world, particularly across parts of the Roman Empire, as cultural news site Hyperallergic notes.

And yet, rather than serve as good luck talismans or artwork – as many of these objects did – the Torre de Meira find served a less obvious function.

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Thanks to a series of scratches running along the penis, experts concluded that it was, in fact, used as an elaborate sharpening tool for soldiers’ swords.

The archaeologist cooperative Árbore Arqueoloxía made the unusual discovery on May 19 after three years of working on the site.

Team member Darío Peña told Hyperallergic that the NSFW discovery “materializes the symbolic association between violence, weapons, and masculinity – an association that we know existed in the Middle Ages and that is present in our culture today.”

Earlier this year, scholars identified what may be the first-known Ancient Roman dildoVindolanda Trust

A number of ancient carved and adorned phallic relics have been uncovered in recent years. Back in February historians identified what many consider to have been an Ancient Roman dildo.

Some discoveries suggest that penises were drawn as mocking or derisory graffiti as far back as 2,000 years ago, while others suggest they were a symbol of protection.

In this case, they were used to keep men’s weapons sharp and hard (and yes, we can hear the collective eye-roll).

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