In Spain a rainstorm exposed a drawing of an ancient Roman phallus on a fortress

Thousands of years ago, the ancient Romans also painted phalluses on fences. That is, they carved them on the fences of fortresses. Because the fences in the fortresses were made of stone. This is evidenced by the archaeologists' discovery, which scientists immediately began to study closely and called "a relief of exceptional historical significance," as defined in the report of University of Alicante professors Felician Sala and Jesus Moratalla, the leaders of the excavations, according to the website of the city of Benidorm.

Heavy rains in Spain have revealed stone carvings of a phallus, a human face, and a horn of plenty in an ancient Roman fortress.

The carvings were created in Tossal de la Cala, a first-century BC fortress in modern-day Benidorm on the Mediterranean coast.

Although the ancient art was first spotted in January 2020, city officials and archaeologists announced it on May 19, 2023, to "ensure the protection of the topography," according to a statement from the city of Benidorm.

The face, phallus and horn of plenty were carved in an area measuring approximately 22 by 16.5 inches (57 by 42 centimeters). But the original carvings could have been larger, given that part of the rock is missing, Jesus Moratalla, the excavation leader and associate professor of archaeology at the University of Alicante, said in a statement.

The trio of carvings is unique "because there are no known references to similar engravings and reliefs" in the former Roman territories, Ana Pellicer, a historical and cultural heritage advisor in Benidorm, said in a statement.

Catherine Halcrow, who holds a doctorate in classical archaeology from Oxford University and was not involved in the excavation, noted the symbolic significance of the carvings. Both the horn of plenty and the phallus "have traditionally been seen as harbingers or talismans of good fortune, protection, and abundance," Halcrow told Live Science in an email. "The phallus, in particular, would have an apotropaic function, meaning that its function would be to ward off evil from a place and the people associated with it."

Ancient Roman writers Marcus Terence Varron ((lived 116 BC - 27 BC) and Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) testify to the protective properties of phalluses.

In the newly discovered carving, the two faces face forward, toward the viewer, which was likely the intent of the craftsman, who "used a frontal rather than a side profile to emphasize a sense of dominance and directness," said Halcrow. "It was meant to be protective and impressive."

Ancient phallic carvings dating back to Roman times are commonplace in Europe, but "this particular carving has no other known regional comparable antecedents," said Helcrow. "Iconography and symbolism are not uncommon in Roman artwork, but other elements are rare, including the medium and setting." Because the relief may be incomplete, other symbols or contextualizing elements may be lost.