‘Beautiful’ 1-inch penis pendant is found at a Roman bathhouse below Carlisle Cricket Club – and specialists say it was in all probability a very good luck allure

On May 7, 2026

The ancient Romans may have been known for their sophisticated art and culture, but not all their creations were quite so classy.

Archaeologists have discovered a ‘beautiful’ one–inch penis pendant beneath the Carlisle Cricket Club.

The site, located on the bank of the River Eden, was once home to a Roman bathhouse.

Experts say the ‘tiny’ bronze phallus was likely worn as a good luck charm to ward off evil.

Excavations have been going on at Carlisle Cricket Club since 2017, and volunteer archaeologists have already unearthed dozens of relics.

The team have found pottery shards, pillar fragments, and large stone heads, as well as artefacts going back as far as the Bronze Age.

However, this is the first time the researchers have discovered one of these popular Roman good luck charms.

Site director Frank Giecco told the BBC: ‘It’s our first little phallus, it’s tiny, it’s about 3cm (1.2in), but beautifully made in bronze.’

Archaeologists have discovered a ‘beautiful’ Roman–era penis pendant beneath the Carlisle Cricket Club

The site, located on the bank of the River Eden, was once home to a Roman bathhouse

While it might look rude to us today, the Romans saw the phallus as a good luck symbol, and penises of all shapes and sizes have been discovered across the empire.

The phallus was often linked to luck or fertility, and was believed to offer protection from evil spirits.

A small charm like this one would likely have been worn on the belt or as jewellery, but larger symbols might be carved into walls or statues.

It was also common for legionaries to put on penis charms before battle in the hope that they would keep them safe.

Mr Giecco says that the Romans were ‘extremely superstitious’, adding that the small pendant was intended to be a ‘good luck charm’.

In fact, these objects are so common throughout the Roman world that the archaeologists were surprised it took so long to find one.

‘It’s unusual we haven’t found a phallus–shaped object on the site before, it’s so rich in other types of objects,’ says Mr Giecco.

‘It’s a beautiful little object.’

Experts say that the one–inch phallus was a good luck charm worn on the belt or as jewellery to ward off evil

The abundance of Roman artefacts beneath the cricket club is due to the fact that Carlisle was an extremely important location for the Empire’s foothold in Britain

Why did the Romans wear penis jewellery?

Archaeologists have found hundreds of penis–shaped pendants and carvings from all over the Roman Empire.

They were fashioned into rings, pendants, belt ornaments, and even wind chimes.

These were primarily worn as good luck charms, believed to offer protection and ward off evil.

These charms often depicted penises as animals with wings, legs, and even tails made of smaller penises.

In Latin, these were known as a Fascinus, from which we derive the word ‘to fascinate’, and were seen as a symbol of the divine masculine phallus.

However, just days after their initial discovery, volunteers uncovered another small charm of similar shape and design, which is believed to be a phallus.

The abundance of Roman artefacts beneath the cricket club is due to the fact that Carlisle was an extremely important location for the Empire’s foothold in Britain.

The city, known as Luguvalium to the Romans, was a key settlement near Hadrian’s Wall, the barrier that marked the northernmost edge of the empire.

Luguvalium served as a military and trading centre, allowing for supplies and troops to move between the various forts.

Due to its strategic location at the crossroads of two major roads, it soon developed into a major commercial hub for the northern frontier.

At its peak, the town was deemed important enough to house a legionary garrison and a 1,000–soldier strong division.

While the countless military artefacts found beneath Carlisle might reveal the scope of Rome’s reach, Mr Giecco says his miniature discovery tells a more subtle story.

He says that the phallus charm ‘gives a fantastic insight into the minds of people who lived in Carlisle 1,800 years ago.’

Just days after finding the first penis, volunteers found another small charm, which they believe could be another phallus pendant

However, these are not the first Roman penises discovered in Britain.

In 2021, archaeologists found a Roman millstone near Cambridge that was decorated with a large carving of a penis.

The find came from the remains of a Roman villa, located near the town of Godmanchester, uncovered during road maintenance.

Archaeologists say that the Ancient Romans often made a connection between crops, milling, and the fertility symbol of the phallus.

Similar phallic millstones have been found in Pompeii, with one bearing the inscription ‘Hic Habitat Felicitas’, meaning ‘You Will Find Happiness Here’.

Experts say that this would have been intended to imbue the millstone and the flour it produced with protective properties.

How England spent almost half a millennium under Roman rule

55BC – Julius Caesar crossed the channel with around 10,000 soldiers. They landed at a Pegwell Bay on the Isle of Thanet and were met by a force of Britons. Caesar was forced to withdraw.

54BC – Caesar crossed the channel again in his second attempt to conquer Britain. He came with with 27,000 infantry and cavalry and landed at Deal but were unopposed. They marched inland and after hard battles they defeated the Britons and key tribal leaders surrendered.

However, later that year, Caesar was forced to return to Gaul to deal with problems there and the Romans left.

54BC – 43BC – Although there were no Romans present in Britain during these years, their influence increased due to trade links.

43AD – A Roman force of 40,000 led by Aulus Plautius landed in Kent and took the south east. The emperor Claudius appointed Plautius as Governor of Britain and returned to Rome.

47AD – Londinium (London) was founded and Britain was declared part of the Roman empire. Networks of roads were built across the country.

50AD – Romans arrived in the southwest and made their mark in the form of a wooden fort on a hill near the river Exe. A town was created at the site of the fort decades later and names Isca.

When Romans let and Saxons ruled, all ex-Roman towns were called a ‘ceaster’. this was called ‘Exe ceaster’ and a merger of this eventually gave rise to Exeter.

75 – 77AD – Romans defeated the last resistant tribes, making all Britain Roman. Many Britons started adopting Roman customs and law.

122AD – Emperor Hadrian ordered that a wall be built between England and Scotland to keep Scottish tribes out.

312AD – Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal throughout the Roman empire.

228AD – The Romans were being attacked by barbarian tribes and soldiers stationed in the country started to be recalled to Rome.

410AD – All Romans were recalled to Rome and Emperor Honorious told Britons they no longer had a connection to Rome.

Source: History on the net