old'un Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 There have been a number of Roman dodecahedron found around the UK, no one knows what they were used for, so what's your thoughts on these objects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 Early form of a air freshener container ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 so what's your thoughts on these objects? Not a clue, but are the holes on the blind side also differing sizes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 Hello, i see on the news 1 was found in Lincolnshire recently , interesting object, the Romans made lots of artefacts but this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 Strange that no one knows what its for, maybe at 8cms its part of a game, roll the dodecahedron and if the token falls out you win a Christian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 (edited) 8 minutes ago, islandgun said: Strange that no one knows what its for, maybe at 8cms its part of a game, roll the dodecahedron and if the token falls out you win a Christian Hello, interesting thought, i found a nice Roman Dice in VGC when i did a lot of Metal Detecting so we know they played some sort of indoor games, it was a 6 sider known as a Tesserae, looking at this object, what about if they placed different size balls inside and rolled it to see which one came out first ?? Edited April 29 by oldypigeonpopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted April 29 Author Report Share Posted April 29 (edited) 30 minutes ago, islandgun said: Strange that no one knows what its for, maybe at 8cms its part of a game, roll the dodecahedron and if the token falls out you win a Christian I like the idea, you roll the dodecahedron and a token or ball of the correct size falls out, don't know about winning a Christian though. Or could it just be an ornament of the time? Mind you the amount of work involved in making them would suggest an object of more importance. Edited April 29 by old'un Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarecrow243 Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 my wife said a candle holder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 56 minutes ago, old'un said: I like the idea, you roll the dodecahedron and a token or ball of the correct size falls out, don't know about winning a Christian though. Or could it just be an ornament of the time? Mind you the amount of work involved in making them would suggest an object of more importance. It would bring a bit of variety into the Christians week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambam1962 Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 I read something a while ago, and they thought they were used for religious and ritualistic purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 1 hour ago, old'un said: I like the idea, you roll the dodecahedron and a token or ball of the correct size falls out, don't know about winning a Christian though. Or could it just be an ornament of the time? Mind you the amount of work involved in making them would suggest an object of more importance. this is excsactly what i think.....the holes are of a different size and i think it is missing a ball......it is thrown and if the ball falls out of the hole ...there isthe chance of winning or losing...............might be played with something else ie: tokens ...or counters.......... think you are spot on OLDUN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Best Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 3 hours ago, islandgun said: roll the dodecahedron and if the token falls out you win a Christian Who would want one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 could it be something rude............has anyone sniffed one ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambam1962 Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 Roman dog toy, without the ball inside. Just like the modern day NERF version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted April 29 Author Report Share Posted April 29 2 hours ago, ditchman said: this is excsactly what i think.....the holes are of a different size and i think it is missing a ball......it is thrown and if the ball falls out of the hole ...there isthe chance of winning or losing...............might be played with something else ie: tokens ...or counters.......... think you are spot on OLDUN If they were used in such a way they would always come to rest on 5 balls with one hole facing skyward and one facing down, having said that, I would have thought the experts would have looked for signs of wear on the balls from rolling it across the ground? Mind you some of the balls do look a bit worn/flattened? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 (edited) No idea why people say they don't know what they are for. Very well known that they are for knitting and plenty of videos demonstrating this. We used to do similar as kids with a wooden cotton reel and 4 nails in it. Edited April 29 by 39TDS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted April 29 Author Report Share Posted April 29 blimey, looks like you may be correct, must say I have never seen one before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted April 29 Author Report Share Posted April 29 interesting take on other uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39TDS Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 Did none of you lot have one of these as a kid, or your sister maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondoggy Posted April 29 Report Share Posted April 29 4 hours ago, old'un said: blimey, looks like you may be correct, must say I have never seen one before. For making Willy warmers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted April 30 Author Report Share Posted April 30 11 hours ago, 39TDS said: Did none of you lot have one of these as a kid, or your sister maybe. yes I did have one as a kid, but...I don't believe that was there function, bronze was an expensive material back then, it would have taken skill and time to make them, it would have been an expensive item for making willy warmers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted April 30 Report Share Posted April 30 (edited) It's the rudimentary version of the "Holy Hand grenade Of Antioch" Edited April 30 by 7daysinaweek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKD Posted April 30 Report Share Posted April 30 There was a snippet about these on the beeb's breakfast news this morning. Expert said "We think it had some sort of religious context,,,," DOHHH !!! Obviously never heard of PW and all its eggspurts 🤭🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushkin Posted April 30 Report Share Posted April 30 (edited) Nah, it was made for mums to wind up their wool into balls for knitting< Crikey could you imagine the noise if they dropped one on their toes?🤪 Edited April 30 by Pushkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambam1962 Posted April 30 Report Share Posted April 30 This is the article I read a while ago in The Smithsonian Magazine . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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