# Strange sex scene from the Turin Papyrus **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691 "2011-03-06T18:17:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/1 "2011-03-06T18:17:18Z")
The papyrus: [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turin_Erotic_Papyrus) What the heck is going on here? : [http://www.bubastis.be/art/musee/turin/turin\_137b.jpg](http://www.bubastis.be/art/musee/turin/turin_137b.jpg) It looks like she’s looking in the mirror while putting on some makeup. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Heyoka13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Heyoka13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heyoka13)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/2 "2011-03-06T18:22:45Z")
Wow. No idea. I’m stunned. Those deve Egyptians, who’da thot? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/3 "2011-03-06T18:39:19Z")
That is a rather detailed reconstruction, possibly with some hopeful projection. Have a look at a photo of the [actual fragment](http://www.perankhgroup.com/ga8da7555.jpg) (the scene you are asking about is on the left and is mainly [del]hole[/del] missing). ETA: [here’s another reconstruction](http://www.perankhgroup.com/erotica36.jpg) from the above site. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/4 "2011-03-06T19:47:09Z")
It looks like a modern fake to me. Were egyptian men circumcised? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/5 "2011-03-06T20:00:03Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > . > Were egyptian men circumcised? Yes ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/6 "2011-03-06T20:00:41Z")
My guess is that the “mirror” is a fan. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/7 "2011-03-06T20:01:10Z")
I guess pyramids have many more uses than I’d realized. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/8 "2011-03-06T21:30:18Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I guess pyramids have many more uses than I’d realized. I would think an obelisk would be much more practical. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/9 "2011-03-06T22:23:55Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > It looks like a modern fake to me. **ralph** , I had no idea you were an expert in Egyptology!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/10 "2011-03-06T22:30:12Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > My guess is that the “mirror” is a fan. She’s pretty clearly painting her lips while looking at it, and it’s shaped like an [Egyptian mirror](http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/education/egyptians/mirror.shtml), and not like a [fan.](http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/IH019904.html) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/11 "2011-03-06T22:43:19Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > It looks like a modern fake to me. > Were egyptian men circumcised? With an erection that big, you wouldn’t see the foreskin even if he wasn’t! Cut and uncut men look the same once they’re erect. But circumcision isn’t a new practice, anyway. Yes, circumcision was practiced in Ancient Egypt. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/12 "2011-03-06T23:26:31Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Yes, circumcision was practiced in Ancient Egypt. In fact I believe ancient Egypt represents our oldest documented cases of circumcision, period. Both male ( pretty definitively ) and female ( somewhat more arguable, though both Strabo and Herodotus state that they did ). ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/13 "2011-03-06T23:46:02Z")
Well, you see much smaller cones that are based on solid fat and scented oils that sit on top of the head and melt - dribbling scented oil on the head and shoulders [yuckk] so I suppose it could represent a cone of fat being used as lubricant and scent? ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/14 "2011-03-06T23:55:01Z")
I think the cone on top of her head is a lotus. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/15 "2011-03-07T00:55:05Z")
> [@](#): > > With an erection that big, you wouldn’t see the foreskin even if he wasn’t! Cut and uncut men look the same once they’re erect. You’ve probably seen more penes than I, but I can tell you that this isn’t always true. Even when erect, my foreskin is more than long enough (by a couple of centimeters) to completely cover the glans. I _can_ retract it, but it doesn’t happen automatically. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/16 "2011-03-07T01:19:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You’ve probably seen more penes than I, but I can tell you that this isn’t always true. Even when erect, my foreskin is more than long enough (by a couple of centimeters) to completely cover the glans. I _can_ retract it, but it doesn’t happen automatically. I bet it would if you had a three foot erection like the dude in the scroll, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/17 "2011-03-07T01:27:36Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > She’s pretty clearly painting her lips while looking at it, and it’s shaped like an [Egyptian mirror](http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/education/egyptians/mirror.shtml), and not like a [fan.](http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/IH019904.html) Is she painting her lips or applying kohl- in effect, eyeshadow? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/18 "2011-03-07T01:32:31Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > I think the cone on top of her head is a lotus. It is a lotus, but that isn’t the cone I am referring to in the illustration @\_@ ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/19 "2011-03-07T01:55:24Z")
After scrolling though a few, I think the caption should be ‘objects in rear view mirror are not as large as they appear.’ ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691/20 "2011-03-07T02:06:39Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I bet it would if you had a three foot erection like the dude in the scroll, though. 😉 Yes, y’know, I was about to say, the lady on the far right of the larger panel **jjimm** linked has a remarkably nonchalant expression for someone facing that sort of a challenge :eek:. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-sex-scene-from-the-turin-papyrus/573691.md?page=2)