A wooden phallus found in a ditch at Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort in central England, may have been used for sexual purposes, new research suggests.

Archaeologists unearthed the roughly 7-inch-long (17 centimeters) phallus in 1992 and suspected that it could have been used a number of ways, including as a pestle or a good-luck charm to “ward off evil.” However, a more recent analysis using 3D scans of the object revealed that both ends were worn smooth compared to the rest of the piece, indicating that it had been touched repeatedly over time, according to the study, published Feb. 20 in the journal Antiquity(opens in new tab).

The object is likely the “first known example of a non-miniaturized disembodied phallus made of wood in the Roman world” and was one of numerous items discarded in a second-century A.D. ditch, including shoes and dress accessories, small tools, and craft waste items, like scraps of leather and worked antlers, according to a statement.

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