History & Culture

Unusual find in a latrine in Gdańsk

Photo: The Regional Office for the Protection of Monuments in Gdańsk
Photo: The Regional Office for the Protection of Monuments in Gdańsk

A very well preserved dildo, made of leather and wood, was discovered by archaeologists during the work inside the old latrine in Podwale Przedmiejskie in Gdańsk. The find comes from the second half of the eighteenth century.

Marcin Tymiński, a spokesman for the Pomeranian Conservator, explained that the object was found in a place that was a probable location of a swordsmanship school, as evidenced by the discovered objects including wooden swords and arrowheads. The dildo, stuffed with bristles, was made primarily of very good quality leather, with a wooden tip. It also has a very clearly shaped testicles. Archaeologists believe that it was a sex toy. The object ended up in the latrine by accident, during careless use.

This is not the first find of this kind in the area of Gdańsk. A similar artefact was also found during archaeological excavations. In Poland, during excavations archaeologists frequently discover fragments of pottery and stone tools; objects made from organic materials are rare, as they degrade rapidly. The recently discovered objects fortunately survived hundreds of years due to the fact that it rested in a very humid place, without access to oxygen.

The unusual find is currently undergoing conservation work.

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