HistoryPorn

4585 readers

1 users here now

`If you would like to become a mod in this community, kindly PM the mod.`

Relive the Past in Jaw-Dropping Detail!

HistoryPorn is for photographs (or, if it can be found, film) of the past, recent or distant! Give us a little snapshot of history!

Rules

Be respectful and inclusive.
No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
Engage in constructive discussions.
Share relevant content.
Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
Use appropriate language and tone.
Report violations.
Foster a continuous learning environment.
No genocide or atrocity denialism.

Pictures of old artifacts and museum pieces should go to History Artifacts

Illustrations and paintings should go to History Drawings

Related Communities:

Military Porn

Forgotten Weapons

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

Roman Dodecahedrons: A Mystifying Archaeological Find (hackaday.com)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

9 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 0 points 7 months ago

There are similar objects that are icosahedral (d20 - shaped) that do not have holes, but do have the external nubs.

The glove theory is popular, but that style of knitting isn't known to have been practiced for more than a thousand years after these objects were created. They have never been found with knitting needles, or other thread-related tools.

There's also a bit of a paradox with record keeping. Very common things were almost never recorded - what would be the point of that after all, everyone already knows about them - and these objects don't appear in surviving records. However, we haven't found enough of these for them to have been all that common, and they seem to be confined to Gallo-roman areas, suggesting a sub-cultural difference.

The unsatisfying answer is that we will likely never know.