According to an announcement by the region’s local history museum.
At over a meter and a half long, it may be the largest surviving Roman phallus sculpture, archaeologists say.
The phallic sculpture was found at the base of a building within a walled enclosure at the El Higuerón archaeological site. The site was originally an Iberian settlement occupied in the 4th century BCE until 206 BCE when the Romans conquered the area.
El Higuerón was initially excavated in 1966 and again in 1968 and is considered one of the landmarks of Iberian culture in the province of Córdoba. The ongoing excavations are overseen by the Museo Histórico Local de Nueva Carteya, which announced the discovery of the phallic relief.
In ancient Roman culture, the fascinates was a representation of the divine phallus used to invoke male generative power. The ancient Romans believed it offered good fortune and protection.
Phallic representations can be found among Roman sculptures, mosaics, frescoes and pendentives. The ancient Roman city of Pompeii, for example, is full of graffiti and carvings of phallic images. One of the greatest concentrations of phallic symbols, however, is found at Hadrian’s Wall in England. There, along the corridor of the wall and in the military installations, are 59 identified penis engravings.
Additionally, during this season, the team discovered the base of an Iberian-era wall in the western part of the site. It contained Roman limestone soil and structural remains from the Roman and medieval periods.