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Only in Benidorm! Archaeologists discover carvings of a smiley face and a PHALLUS in a 2,000-year-old Roman fort in the tourist hot spot
- An ‘inscultura’ was found in Tossal De La Cala, in the town of Benidorm, Spain
- Experts discovered this by sheer luck a few miles from the city’s party strip
It is known as a hot spot for drunken Brits, with many flooding there year after year to enjoy the Spanish sun.
But now Benidorm is at the unlikely center of a major archaeological discovery, with experts encountering a relic of our past.
Ancient smiley faces and a phallus drawing were discovered at a 2,000-year-old Roman fort in the seaside resort.
Experts came across this gravy by sheer luckIt is five kilometers from Benidorm’s party strip, which is bursting with bars and clubs.
“This find was made by chance on the hill that serves as the seat of the castellum at the end of January 2020 after a period of heavy rain,” said Ana Pellicer, the councilor for historical and cultural heritage. The Alicante.
Ancient smiley faces and a phallus drawing were discovered in a 2,000-year-old Roman fort in the seaside town
The so-called ‘inscultura’ found in Tossal De La Cala shows three human faces next to a phallus and a cornucopia – a horn-shaped basket full of fruits and goods
The so-called ‘inscultura’ found in Tossal De La Cala shows three human faces next to a phallus and a cornucopia – a horn-shaped basket full of fruits and goods.
Since the discovery three years ago, researchers from the University of Alicante have treated their findings with the ‘ultimate discretion’.
The pandemic reportedly gave experts a chance to think about how to display the carvings without separating them from the historic fortress.
They think some of these drawings could already be missing, with an upper quadrant appearing incomplete in the carvings.
It is currently unclear what the inscultura actually means, but the cornucopia and the phallus were both prominent symbols in Roman culture.
University College of London says phallic images were common during this period, particularly in jewelry, furniture, and even lamps.
Winged phallus was also used to symbolize divinity and fertility in many ancient imagesand some use them as good luck charms.
Experts came across the carvings by sheer luck just five kilometers from Benidorm’s party strip
Meanwhile, the cornucopia was believed to embody abundance and prosperity due to its abundant supply of edible goods.
The horned basket even has ties to Fortuna, the goddess of fortune in ancient Roman culture, as she is depicted holding it in many illustrations.
Mrs. Pellicer still believes that no similar carvings have been found so far in the areas of the former Roman Empire.
Perched on a 100-meter-high hill, the fortress was excavated in the 1940s and is said to have housed Roman soldiers in its many rooms.
But the most recent discovery was said to be of “exceptional historical significance,” and nothing like it had been found before.