Roman Dodecahedrons: A Mystifying Archaeological Find

Much about archaeology can be described as trying to figure out the context in which objects and constructions should be interpreted. A good example of this are the metal dodecahedrons (twelve-sided shape) which have been found during archaeological excavations at former Roman sites. Since 1739 over 115 of them have been recorded, most recently a fully intact copper specimen found near the Lincolnshire village of Norton Disney during the Summer of 2023 by a local group of archaeologists.

Twinkletoes,

Ancient Roman fidget spinner

desmosthenes,
@desmosthenes@lemmy.world avatar

pft… it’s for delve fossil crafting ^*

maxroll.gg/poe/crafting/fossils-resonators

RickRussell_CA,
@RickRussell_CA@lemmy.world avatar

Those external nubs strongly suggest something that was used for winding fiber or knitting. Storing thread for sewing? Some kind of frame for a popular knitting pattern?

Pronell,

There have been several other articles about these in the past few weeks.

One of the most common suggestions is exactly that, used for knitting fingers for gloves.

Another I saw that made sense was for securing tent poles, with the nubs being used to secure the canvas to the ground.

SpaceNoodle,

The tent pole thing makes no sense.

Pronell,

Fair enough, I was just passing on what I’d read.

casmael,

Yeah I can’t really visualise that one tbh

phdepressed,

Don’t imagine it as a peg but like a thing to help knot around and hold a (small) rope in place.

But I think the sewing use is more likely.

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