Archaeologists find mysterious Roman dodecahedron - no one knows what it was used for

Categories: Nálezy nejenom s detektorem ve Velké Británii a Irsku

In the small village of Norton Disney, Lincolnshire, a very rare Roman twelve-pointed stone has been found. Only about 130 of these copper alloy examples have been discovered in Europe, ironically only in the provinces, never in Rome itself. In England it is only the thirty-third twelve-walled stone, none having been discovered in its original context until now.

There are no known written references to these objects in ancient sources, inscriptions, frescoes, mosaics or any other medium. No references are known to explain their purpose or function. Although there are many theories about the meaning and purpose of these dodecahedrons, no one has yet offered a satisfactory explanation.

Few have been found in their entirety. Most lie in private collections or museums and any information about their original context is lost forever. Occasionally, broken parts are found with the help of metal detectors (perhaps deliberately). The time span of these finds is also interesting, exceeding five centuries. Most often they date from the 2nd to the 3rd century. They vary in size from golf ball to baseball. They have round holes of different diameters on each side. However, the overall design is consistent, including protruding balls in each corner.

This twelve-sided stone was discovered last summer during excavations at Potter Hill. It lay in a pit (probably quarry) filled with a mixture of Roman pottery shards and rubble. It is completely preserved, weighs 250 grams, and is 8 cm in diameter. X-ray fluorescence analysis revealed that it contains 67% copper, 7% tin and 26% lead. This is far too high a proportion of soft and malleable lead for a more durable tool.

Less than a mile from Potter Hill, a Roman villa was discovered in 1933. It lay close to the Fosse Way, the main Roman road linking Exeter with Lincoln. Its now completely earth-covered remains are listed as a National Heritage Site. The ruins of the villa were later home to numerous generations of badgers, who are also protected by law. Perhaps the pit at Potter Hill is directly related to the villa.

The dodecahedron was put on display at the National Civil War Center on January 3 and is already attracting considerable attention. The January 9 episode of the popular TV show that aired on January 9 surely helped it: Digging for Britain. The Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group needs considerable funding to further explore the site. They have therefore set up a collection that could fund part of the work.

Video: https://twitter.com/ndhags/status/1745503124326899858

Roman Nemec

Sources: bbc.com, thehistoryblog.com, newarkadvertiser.co.uk

Professor Alice Roberts with the Roman 12th century

Richard Parker, secretary of the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, Professor Alice Roberts and researcher Iorena Hitchens with a Roman twelve-pointed stone

This is only the 33rd such artefact in Britain

The article is included in categories:

Archive of articles > Archaeology > Finds and rescue research abroad > Nálezy nejenom s detektorem ve Velké Británii a Irsku

Post

Detektortom

18 January 9:30

Super i v Carnuntum mají jednu

joe63

18 January 12:53

Tak kdy padne první česko-moravská ?

Dom

18 January 15:31

Nebo spíš - kdo to má doma?

namor

18 January 16:42

Jedná se poměrně o „běžný“ nález, jen do začátku 19.st. už jich bylo objeveno více než sto.
V některých byly zajištěny zbytky vosku, takže jedna z teorií předpokládá, že se jednalo o svícny. Otvory jsou dle vyjádření archeologů zhotoveny o různých průměrech, takže libovolná svíčka se šoupla kam pasovala a dodekaedr se jen pootočil do výchozí polohy.

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