Penis pendant with ‘protective abilities’ from ancient Rome found

Ancient Romans were fascinated by the phallus — but this is a one-of-a-kind find.

Metal detectorist Wendy Thompson unearthed a rare penis pendant in southeast England, LiveScience reported Thursday, and the phallic figurine is believed to be the first of its kind despite the ancient society’s penchant for penis. The treasure is believed to have been forged when the Romans ruled over Britain, between A.D. 42 and 410.

The foregone civilization was known for creating a menagerie of fascinum — art and objects inspired by the male member — which they believed held divine protective powers, according to ancient historians including Pliny the Elder.

“The rarity of it is that it’s a silver example of a penis pendant,” Thompson told Kent Online. “I’ve got other bronze ones that I have found in the past but they’re nowhere near as significant, they hadn’t ever found a silver one before in England.”

Despite their widespread reverence for the weenie, it’s extremely rare to find anatomical artifacts like the one recently discovered by Thompson.

The figure measures just over three centimeters in length, and features a ribbed flourish at the top — presumed to illustrate pubic hair — along with a suspension loop on the back so that it may be strung up and worn on the body, perhaps as a necklace.

Noted by researchers, the prized accessory is, unusually, made of rare silver.

Lori Rogerson, an expert who analyzes potentially ancient finds — by treasure hunters and citizen scientists alike — with the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) of the British Museum and the National Museum of Wales, has said that run-of-the-mill fascinum is usually made of a cheaper, copper-alloy.

“Being a higher-quality metal than copper-alloy, silver may have been thought to strengthen the phallus’ protective abilities,” said Rogerson, whose report on the silver shaft was shared on PAS’ website.

“This object is the first silver example of its class purported to be discovered, and thus a significant national find.”

Researchers who spoke to LiveScience couldn’t confirm whether silver was believed to possess magical safeguarding properties, or if the owner simply had the money to burn on precious metals.

Men, women and even children were known to keep penis pendants on their person. “We know that children were protected by these apotropaic [having the power to stop evil] devices, and the archaeological evidence suggests their use in Britain was very popular within the Roman army,” said Rogerson.

Thompson’s metal detector found the bauble on Dec. 31, 2020. It’s now being processed by the British Museum, where it may end up as part of their permanent collection, according to LiveScience.

But Thompson told Kent Online she’s just glad to have discovered it.

“The last person to hold that was back in that era. It’s a long, long time that it’s been lying in the ground waiting for me to come along and find it.”