In England, a stone was found on which 1,700 years ago someone painted a penis and called a man a shitter

Author:
Anhelina Sheremet
Date:

In England, historians have deciphered ancient Roman graffiti, which was carved on a stone near Hadrianʼs Wall — there was written: "Secundinus, the shitter" and the drawing of a penis.

This was reported by the BBC.

An offensive comment written more than 1,700 years ago was found near the town of Hexham. It had words about someone named Secundinus beside an image of a phallus, which the Romans usually used as a symbol of good luck or fertility. However, experts believe that its true significance, in this case, was somewhat different.

For example, Roman epigraphists recognized the message as a distorted version of the words Secundinus cacator, which translates into English as "Secundinus, the shitter." They believe the phallic image alongside it added "to the force of the written insult".

The stone, 40 cm wide and 15 cm high, was found by Dylan Herbert, a retired biochemist from South Wales. He made this discovery on May 19, when he participated in excavations near the shaft.

"Iʼd been removing a lot of rubble all week and to be honest this stone had been getting in my way, I was glad when I was told I could take it out of the trench. It looked from the back like all the others, a very ordinary stone, but when I turned it over, I was startled to see some clear letters. Only after we removed the mud did I realise the full extent of what Iʼd uncovered, and I was absolutely delighted," said the man.

A total of 13 carved phallus figures were found at this location, near Hexham.