A copper knife handle depicting a couple having sex and an animal bone carved into the shape of a penis with wings are among thousands of artefacts unearthed across Britain by amateur treasure hunters.
The erotic art is part of a huge haul of almost 25,000 Roman artefacts – mainly coins – discovered in England and Wales and documented as part of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
The finds, reported in 2011 and dating back between 1,600 and 2,000 years, also include a copper bust of a bare-chested man – thought to be Antinous, the male lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian – and an unusual silver and gold brooch in the shape of a leaping dolphin.
