firstly what is it?
actually that is not the question, it is a Roman dodecahedron, or as it is sometimes called, a Gallo-Roman dodecahedron, it is a small hollow object
made of copper alloy which has been cast into a regular dodecahedral shape,
it has twelve flat pentagonal faces, each face having a circular hole of varying
diameter in the middle, the holes connecting to the hollow centre, Roman
dodecahedra date from the 2nd to 4th centuries AD. The first dodecahedron was
found in 1739. Since then, at least 116 similar objects have been found from
Wales to Hungary and Spain and to the east of Italy, with most found in Germany
and France. Ranging from 4 to 11 centimetres (1.6 to 4.3 in) in size,
about 100 bronze Roman dodecahedrons have been found in locations shown on the map below,
now comes the question, what were they used for? as it happens it appears that nobody knows what they were used for, speculated uses include candlestick holders (wax was found inside two examples); dice; survey instruments for estimating distances to (or sizes of) distant objects; devices for determining the optimal sowing date for winter grain; gauges to calibrate water pipes, weapons or army standard bases; thread holder for knitting gloves; religious artefacts, fortune telling devices, or just purely decorative. Several dodecahedra were found in coin hoards, providing evidence that their owners considered them valuable objects, so here is something to ponder over your Sunday lunch, what were Roman dodecahedron actually used for?
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