A 2,000-year-old penis statue is going up for auction.
Metal detectorists were in for quite a shock last year when they discovered a small Celtic figurine that appeared to show the Roman god Mercury holding a giant hinged penis in his right hand.
The bronze nude statuette is from the first century and is set to be auctioned off by Noonans in London on March 8 and 9.
The tiny figurine measures 2 inches high by .5 inch wide and could fetch up to $1,440.
Detectorists Paul Shepheard and his wife, Joanne, were working on a project in Haconby, Lincolnshire, when they were told that there was something else buried in a field.
They dug 10 inches into the ground and unveiled the metal man and his member — which they initially thought was a split pin, a tool used to fasten bolts.
“What I love about metal-detecting is that absolute surprise of what you find, and this certainly came out of the blue!” Shepheard, who has been a detectorist for 25 years, said in a statement.
Nigel Mills, a coin consultant at Noonans, explained how the male figure has a “hinged oversized phallus” and detailed the meaning behind it.
“[It] would have had symbolic powers of good luck and warding off evil spirits and may have served as a locking mechanism as a buckle to hold a belt and scabbard for a sword,” Mills said.
Mercury — whose Greek god counterpart is the immortal Hermes — is the god of money, trickery, communication, luck, thieves and travelers.
He went on: “There is nothing quite like it, I am hoping it will attract a lot of attention.”
Shepheard also gave some insight into the phallic statue, saying it was designed by the Celts as a fertility effigy to praise the Roman deity.
He then revealed that he hopes to use the money he receives from the auction to pay for a fun vacation for himself, his wife and his mother.
Archaeologists recently found another penis-like artifact from thousands of years ago.
UK collectors located a 2,000-year-old “sewing tool” that could potentially be known to be an early Roman dildo.
The phallus discovery was documented in the journal Antiquity, where Newcastle University researcher Dr. Rob Collins explained more about the object.
“I have to confess, part of me thinks it’s kind of self-evident that it is a penis,” he wrote in the paper, the Guardian reported. “We know ancient Romans and Greeks used sexual implements. This object from Vindolanda could be an example of one.”
The item was first brought to light in 1992 when an excavation at the Roman fort of Vindolanda in Northumberland occurred.
At first, archaeologists believed that the 6-inch-long item was used for sewing. However, 30 years later, they realized it was probably actually a dildo used for sexual pleasure.