1,600-year-old Roman Dodecahedron Unearthed in Belgium: What Were Those Ancient Objects Used For?

In Belgium, a metal detectorist found a part of a strange bronze item known as a Roman dodecahedron that is believed to be over 1,600 years old. The 12-sided hollow Roman artifact was first unearthed in England in 1739 and since then more than a hundred dodecahedrons were discovered.

However, despite finding dozens of them, scientists remain unsure of what the Roman dodecahedrons were used for. The only certain thing they know is that it suggests a Gallo-Roman link

Odd Roman Dodecahedron Might Have Non-official Use

Guido Creemers, a curator at Belgium's Gallo-Roman Museum, told Live Science

in an email that none of the previous hypotheses satisfactorily explained the purpose of the Roman dodecahedron. But they believe that it has something to do with non-official activities.

Together with his colleagues, Creemers tried to identify the piece of metal they received last December. It consists of one corner of the dodecahedron with a single corner stud, although it is obvious what it is and that it is measured just over 2 inches (5 centimeters) across.

Patrick Schuermans, a metal detectorist and amateur archaeologist, discovered the fragment months previously in a plowed field near the little town of Kortessem in Belgium's northern Flanders area. Creemers explained that the Gallo-Roman Museum already has a whole antique bronze dodecahedron discovered in 1939 and it would be shown beside the newly discovered artifact in February.

Creemers believe that Roman dodecahedrons were used secretly for magical reasons such as divination or foretelling, which was popular in Roman times but prohibited under Christianity.

Other explanations for its use include as part of a weapon, as a tool for determining the right time to plant grain, or they were dice or something for playing a game and as a measuring tool for finding the right range for Roman artillery. The more recent suggestion is that it was knitting patterns for Roiman gloves. But most archaeologists think that Roman dodecahedrons were used in magical rituals.

Discovering Roman Dodecahedrons

Creemers believes the dodecahedron piece discovered in Kortessem may give further light on these artifacts. The fragmented surfaces of the shard indicate that the dodecahedron was purposefully damaged, presumably during a last ceremony, according to a translated statement by the Flanders Heritage Agency

Many additional Roman dodecahedrons were discovered for what they were in private or museum collections, he explained, so their archaeological context is unclear. The first such object was found in 1739 and many examples were found after that, as per History Defined.

Surprisingly, they are not seen across the Roman Empire. Instead, they are only found in the United Kingdom, Gaul, and Germany, as well as in Noricum and Pannonia in what is now Austria and Hungary. They are most common in Roman Gaul, which is roughly equivalent to modern-day France, as well as sections of Belgium and Switzerland.