DetectingWales.com

A decorative gold pestle which could have been used to mix 'Roman Viagra' has been found in Cornwall.

The rare item could have been used as a portable pestle for crushing love potions, and also serve as a fertility and status symbol, hung around the neck of its owner.

The pendant, which is less than an inch-and-a-half long and weighs just a fifth of an ounce, is shaped provocatively like a bull's horns. The gold pendant  was most likely part of the vanity set of a Romano-British noble, some time between the first and fourth century, say experts.

The ancient golden pestle, designed to hang around the neck of a noblewoman, could have been used to mix love potions

Both the Romans and Ancient Britons coveted and created aphrodisiac potions: Ovid's Art of Love advises readers to 'mix pepper with the seeds of stinging nettles, or crush yellow camomile in well-aged wine' as an inducement to love.

The jewels are unique to Britain, with only two ever found outside of the country.   

More commonly sculpted in iron or bronze, the solid gold content of the Cornish pestle marks it out as a status symbol for its rich wearer.

The pendant was classified as Treasure and handed over to the Crown at a Treasure Inquest held at the Royal Cornwall Museum yesterday.
It was dug up in a field on the Rame Peninsula, near the border with Devon, by metal detector Craig Budding.
The court heard from D the pestle was both part of an ancient cosmetics set, and a fertility symbol.

Royal Cornwall Museum Finds Liason Officer Anna Tyacke explained: 'The pestle could have been used with a mortar to grind cosmetics which would have been smeared on the body as an aid to fertility.' 
Dr Ralph Jackson of the Department of PreHistory and Europe at the British Museum told the court: 'The pendant closely resembles the pestle component of late Iron Age and Romano-British centre-looped cosmetic sets.   

'The primary function of those sets has been interpreted as the preparation of powdered cosmetics, but their form and decoration would appear to have imbued them with additional roles relating to status, identity, protection and fertility.' 
Dr Jackson said the crescent-shaped pendant might also be linked to the Roman god Mithras, who was commonly depicted slaying a bull.   

He said: 'The crescent was a pretty well universal lunar symbol - Mithras was only one of the many users - with fertility as just one, albeit an obvious one, of its potential realms of power.'   

The value of the pestle has yet to be decided.

that's a nice bit of gold............ 8)

i want one for mixing my viagra lol ::)

What a load of bull. Woad grinders aren't that rare, OK gold ones maybe but why the connection to viargra?lol journalistic licence gone mad and the shape isn't that symbolic as any chef will tell you, the best way to chop herbs etc is by using a mezzaluna (half moon,) because it's functional.

You don't need Viagra Mike. ;)













Not unless women's taste in the male form changes....a lot  ;D.

come on now geoff we all need viagra lol.too many witches shops in glasto lol :D