The Roman phallus found in England could be more than just an amulet ● One of the oldest toilets with running water has been discovered in China ● Why zebra stripes?

The Roman phallus found in England could be more than just an amulet

Ever since it was unearthed in 1992 at Vindoland, a former Roman fort in northern England, the Roman wooden phallus has left researchers speechless. why Because, lo and behold, it took over 20 years for anyone to figure out what his true purpose was.

The 16-centimeter-long phallus, discovered along with several clothing and shoe accessories, was believed to be a tool for sewing, smoothing skin, or an unprecedented wooden anvil. Such hypotheses were quickly dismissed as there were no marks on him to indicate such activity.

Another hypothesis claimed that the object could be used as an amulet. It is known that the Romans widely used phallus-shaped talismans, which were called fascinums, but this was not the case here. This is because all fascinum needles are made of metal, bone or ivory, have fins and generally look different. In addition, walking side by side with an object 16 centimeters long was impractical.

Another version of the amulet hypothesis claimed that the phallus was attached to the statue and passers-by could touch it for good luck. This fact was also supported by the fact that the object is extremely smooth on both sides, a fact that indicates long-term use. But, on the other hand, there are no traces to give away the fact that the phallus was exposed to the weather. So he was kept in the house. How many passers-by also pass through this house?

A final interpretation holds that the artifact was actually a pestle used to grind plants either for food or as part of a magical ritual. But even in this case, no traces will be found that would confirm this thesis. Finally, after more than two decades, researchers from the University of Newcastle and the University of Dublin have published a study in the journal Antiquity, explaining what no one could imagine for so long. That is, the life-size phallus was a sex toy.

Having considered for a long time whether to place it somewhere, in some warehouse, away from the public eye, the English specialists decided that it would be better to leave it on display at the Vindoland Museum in Hexham. In fact, the artifact is unique to the Roman world and reveals to us an important part of the golden book of history.

One of the oldest toilets with running water has been discovered in China

If the news above doesn’t already prove that archeology is a fascinating science, and an eternal surprise, here’s a new discovery, this time from China, that will dispel your last doubts.

This is one of the oldest running water toilets ever found. The object, originally extremely fragmented, was restored after almost a year of painstaking work and now consists of a toilet and a piece of water pipe. What is remarkable about it is that it is about 2,200-2,400 years old, making it one of the oldest such objects in the world and certainly the oldest in China.

Having been excavated at the Yueyang archaeological site, the seat of monarchs during the Qin and later Han dynasties, Chinese archaeologists believe it belonged to either the Qin monarch Xiaogong (391-228 BC), or his father Qin Xiangong (424-362 BC), or to Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han dynasty.

More importantly, the item was clearly a luxury item. On the other hand, it is unusual that toilets were used at the time, the invention of which should have been made back in the Victorian period. It is also true that sewage systems already existed 4,000 years ago in the Minoan and Harappan civilizations, but not in China.

In general, Chinese archaeologists have also established how the toilet worked. In particular, after use, a slave or servant would come and pour water there. exciting! And since, as I said, the work of an archaeologist is really exciting, specialists from China suggested that the next step would be a thorough study of the surrounding soil to learn details about the diet of people in those distant times. We look forward to news and will keep you posted.

Why zebra stripes?

There is nothing random in nature. Maybe just genetic mutations, but even they adapt over time, leaving room for only the good ones. One of the best examples from nature is the zebra.

In case you didn’t know, zebras are black with white stripes, not the other way around. And the question that worries people for hundreds of thousands of years is obviously related to the appearance of white stripes. What is their evolutionary purpose? This question was answered by some researchers from the University of Bristol, publishing a study in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Impressed by the presence of the mentioned stripes, the researchers took a horse, not having a zebra, and covered it with blankets of different colors and patterns. As a result of this new research, they were able to understand that a black and white pattern repels moths best.

In fact, marmots are strongly attracted to dark colors, especially gray, black, or brown. Interestingly, birds suddenly lose interest if an object with a black and white pattern appears in front of them. So far so good, but two fundamental questions arise.

The first, to which researchers have not yet found an answer, is associated with the appearance of stripes only in zebras, and not in other horses that suffer from mares’ tracks. The second, at least as mysterious, is related to the fact that the same authors published a similar study three years ago, only in a different journal. Why no one knows yet. But never mind, we all know that repetition is the mother of learning.

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