The Romans drew penises all over Hadrian’s Wall

Penis etchings -- the longstanding hallmark of military troops.

Hadrian’s Wall was built to divide worlds. Stretching across northern England, the 73-mile fortification marked the Roman Empire’s hard northern edge, separating the Empire from the “barbarians” north of the wall.

The wall (which was also the inspiration for the wall in Game of Thrones) was one of the most impressive fortifications of the ancient world. But it didn’t really work without soldiers. Roman defense troops were stationed in forts, milecastles and watchtowers along its length, keeping watch over the frontier and controlling movement across it. They worked, joked, cursed, and prayed alongside the wall.

They also drew penises. Loads and loads of penises. But believe it or not, they did it as a sort of good luck charm.

The Penis As a Good Luck Charm

In Roman Britain, the phallus (often called the fascinum) was a symbol of protection. It was believed to ward off the evil eye, bring luck and guard people, buildings and journeys from harm. On the empire’s northern frontier, it also made a diplomatic statement: Rome was here, with its symbols; and Rome was in control.

Archaeologist Rob Collins of Newcastle University has cataloged 57 stone-carved phalli along Hadrian’s Wall. They range from quick scratched outlines to more elaborate relief carvings, where the surrounding stone was cut away so the symbol stood proud from the surface.

The carvings were clustered around forts, roads, bridges, gateways and supply centers — places where soldiers, goods and animals moved through vulnerable thresholds. Wherever there were more Roman soldiers, there were also more penises (on the walls).

Vindolanda, a fort just south of the wall, has produced 13 examples. Corbridge, an important military depot, has yielded eight. Other carvings have been found at Chesters, South Shields, Maryport, Housesteads, Birdoswald and Carlisle.

It’s hard to say exactly why they were drawn, but the pattern suggests that the carvings were more than idle doodles. Romans often placed protective images at doorways, crossroads and boundaries. A bridge, a gate or a fort entrance was not only physically exposed; it was symbolically exposed, too. The phallus served as a kind of visual shield.

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“These inscriptions … are probably the most important on the Hadrian’s Wall frontier,” Collins says in a Historic England statement. “They provide insight into the organisation of the vast construction project that Hadrian’s Wall was, as well as some very human and personal touches.”

This belief was widespread across the Roman world. Phallic charms were worn as amulets, while images of Priapus, a god of fertility and protection, stood in gardens and domestic spaces. Flying phalluses appeared in charms and household objects.

On Hadrian’s Wall, the symbol was seen as protective, and possibly also as a way to make the soldiers feel more reassured. Living far from the Mediterranean, in a damp and dangerous borderland, any familiar symbol was welcome.

But not every phallus was solemn.

Jokes and Grievances

In 2022, excavators at Vindolanda uncovered a sandstone slab from a third-century fort layer. It bore a deeply carved phallus beside an insult aimed at a man named Secundinus.

The Vindolanda Trust translates the message as “Secundinus the shitter” and, well, that’s probably the tame version. Scholars have noted that the Latin may carry an even more aggressive sexual meaning. Either way, the stone carving was clean and deliberate, suggesting that someone invested real effort in turning a private grievance into a public humiliation.

The Roman phallus, it turns out, was pretty flexible. You could use it to ward evil, remind you of home, or mock an enemy.

Another remarkable frontier survival came from Vindolanda in 1992. A wooden object found in a waterlogged ditch was first identified as a darning tool. Later study showed that it was a life-sized wooden phallus, carved from ash tree.

Microscopic wear revealed that both ends had been polished by repeated handling. Archaeologists have suggested several possible uses. It may have been a sexual object, a pestle used to grind ingredients, or part of a household figure of Priapus that people touched for luck.

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At the Written Rock of Gelt in Cumbria, not far from Hadrian’s wall, Roman soldiers working in a quarry also carved a portrait, a caricature and a phallus into soft sandstone. The quarry supplied stone for repairs to Hadrian’s Wall, and the carvings captured the world of military labor: dangerous work, hard command and perhaps a little mockery of superiors.

Now, researchers are bringing these ancient doodles into the digital age. Using advanced imaging techniques, they’re creating 3D models of the carvings, preserving them for posterity — and for science.

These projects are doing more than saving ancient obscenities. They are preserving evidence of how Roman soldiers understood risk, power and belonging. After all, that’s what modern archaeology is all about. It’s not just about finding new and spectacular temples or villas, but rather about understanding how these people lived, what they believed in, and even how they joked.

This article was originally published in March 2025 and has been updated with additional information