May 30, 2011 11.08 am This story is over 154 months old

Saucy Roman relic back at The Collection

Racy Romans: An erotic Roman knife handle found in Lincolnshire is on display at The Collection.

A particularly erotic Roman object found in Lincolnshire is back on display at The Collection museum in Lincoln.

The steamy knife handle was originally discovered in 2008 by a man with a metal detector in a field at Syston, near Grantham.

Once he recorded it on the Portable Antiques Scheme, he sold it to The Collection for around £1,000

The Collection found that not only was it a Roman metal knife handle, but also decorated with sexual imagery of three people, also featuring a severed head.

The 4th century handle is one of very few discovered items of the type and one of the only ones in such pristine condition.

The handle is now back on display at The Collection, after it was featured in the British Museum‘s Portable Antiquities and Treasure Report.

Despite being described as a handle, there is still speculation about what else it could be, such as another from of tool.

For those wanting to see the handle and discuss it with the experts, it is available to view at The Collection museum in Lincoln.