Roman graffiti shows soldiers enjoyed a dig

THE puerile scrawl on bus shelters and lavatory doors across the land may seem like a curse of the modern age, but even Roman soldiers enjoyed their coarse graffiti.

A 1,700-year-old engraving of a phallus has been unearthed at Hadrian’s Wall.

The image, accompanied by Latin writing that brands a warrior a “s---ter”, was discovered carved into stone at the Vindolanda fort near Hexham in Northumberland.

Archaeologists believe it was part of a spat between two Roman soldiers at the World Heritage Site.

The message – “SECVNDINVS CACOR” – translates as “Secundinus, the s---ter.”

Dr Andrew Birley, chief executive and director of excavations at Vindolanda, said it was not unusual to find such imagery as the phallus was a Roman symbol of good luck, but that the “evidence of conflict between fellow Romans” was interesting.

“It shows that something as childish as graffiti was still going on back then, which is amazing,” he said. “It reminds us of the humanity of the Romans – it makes you feel a real connection with people.”

Dr Birley said it was a “very strong statement” to carve a message out in stone and the team are hoping to find a retort as they continue their excavations.

The stone, which volunteers found beneath the floor of a fourth-century cavalry barracks on the site, is 16in wide and 6in tall.

Dr Birley said the message would likely have taken hours to chisel and was “ultra rare”. The stone is due to go on display next year.

The graffiti was discovered last week by Dylan Herbert, a retired biochemist from South Wales, who was volunteering with the Vindolanda Trust. He said: “Only after we removed the mud did I realise the full extent of what I’d uncovered. I was delighted.”

Vindolanda was an auxiliary fort south of Hadrian’s Wall and is now a museum. Excavations show it was under Roman occupation from roughly 85AD to 370AD. Experts believe it will take another 150 years to excavate the entire site.