I never understand these stories. It always seems the “experts” never find a carving of a man's son or a young athlete. Instead they find homosexual erotica.
This little piece doesn't even have a body. Perhaps the archiologist sees a lascivious glint in the bust's eyes that I am missing.
This year someone discovered an ancient grave site with a body of a man that was buried with pottery. The “expert” wrote that pottery was associated with women so it was proof that the dead man was gay.
Really? So, he couldn't have been a great maker of pottery? Or maybe his wife sent him off with a pot of his favorite beer? Nope. Must be gay.
Carvings/drawings of a penis (phallic symbols) were considered a good luck charm in Roman times. They're supposed to ward off evil spirits. They've also been found in, and on buildings, and carved on Hadrian's Wall. I watched a British program a while back where a group of men built a Roman villa, using only the tools and techniques available during the Roman Britain period. The finishing touch was putting a carved penis on one end of the villa.
Here's a link to the Channel 4 program info, along with a link to a virtual tour of the villa they built:
Rome Wasn't Built in a Day