Okay, I confess I’m stumped
So what is it?
A whatchamacallit.
A whosawhatsis.
Actually, it’s a dodecahedron, and there are tons of them over much of ancient Europe.
But to what purpose? No one has a clue, but to me they look a bit like toys, something resembling what’s used for jacks.
It’s dated from somewhere around the second and third century AD, and has been popping up everywhere in Europe. Archeologists have found the majority of them in France, Switzerland and parts of Germany where the Romans once ruled.
But its use remains a mystery, mostly because the Romans who usually kept meticulous accounts make no mention of it in records. And with sizes varying from 4 to 11 cm, and some bearing decorative knobs, it only gets harder to pinpoint a function.
Four to eleven centimeters is small, but not as small as jacks. I’m stumped; any ideas?
An early Roman version of the Magic 8-Ball?
Ancient D&D players with funny-shaped dice?
That’s because it was so commonplace, mundane, and obvious to them that they saw no need to talk or write about it.
So it would be interesting to consider objects that we use today without even thinking about, but which might stump future archaeologists. Suggestions?
Pre-medieval hacky sacks.
Several months ago I read a fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal about a hairdresser who researches and recreates ancient Greek and Roman hairstyles. She even had an article published in a scholarly journal.
On Pins and Needles: Stylist Turns Ancient Hairdo Debate on Its Head
Janet Stephens has a number of videos on YouTube. Here’s one: Vestal Hairdressing: recreating the “Seni Crines”
Now I can’t help wondering whether these dodecahedrons might have had something to do with hairdressing. That would be a mundane, everyday task which wouldn’t merit mention in historical records. If they were mostly found in womens’ graves, that would be interesting.
Probably not, though. She doesn’t seem to need them. Although I wonder whether the knobs might have somehow been a labor-saving device in creating the braids.
I went to my Magic 8-Ball link above, and asked, “Do the dodecahedrons have anything to do with ancient hairstyles?”
The answer was, “It is certain.”
Well there you go. Case closed. You can thank me later.
Mass production. How?
A spool-knitter?
Jingle bells?
Antimatter bomb from ancient technology.
Well at least the news article didn’t claim since no one knows they must have been left behind by space aliens a la “Chariots of the Gods.”
As for my guess, I’ll say that they were what the Roman Kestone cops used to stop out of control chariots driven by crazy people. Just throw a handfull under the horses hooves and they will come to a crashing halt.
At first I thought it was the pellet from the umbrella which was used to kill Georgi Markov. I may be dating myself.
But if they were originally painted they may have worked as dice.
They look like little potpourri holders – that stuff that smells up the room, esp. at Xmas time. And 4-11cm is a portable size. Maybe they’re like the things used in the Renaissance to de-stink one’s nose in a smelly environment. But probably not.