The Roman Gadget Archaeologists Can't Figure Out

[BarracudaBoy]

Somewhere there is a Roman laughing, saying the equivalent of "They don't know about the 3 seashells!" 😆😆

[leighharwood]

Viking knitting, which isn't really knitting, was around at that time. Amy Gaines has a video showing how to use a Roman dodecahedron with a dowel to make gold "chainmail" chains. The different sizes of holes can be used as drawplates. Bronze was needed as it is stronger than gold. They are often found with gold hoards. Being in the North would make sense as Viking knitting was created in the North. Her method is quick and easy, not fiddly at all.

[workaholica]

Imagine a distant civilization a thousand years from now picking up a yellow rubber duck out of the ocean and trying to figure out what those could possibly have been used for.

[RogerMondo]

Regarding the Roman Dodecahedron, the proposed purpose that I like most is “Candle Holder”.
-The holes fit various sizes of candles, since there was no standardized manufacturing
-Heavy and stable - very important with a burning candle
-Will not catch fire when candle burns down
-Rings on each face catch dripping wax (which was found on some of them)
-The ball feet keep it stable on irregular surfaces
-The Dodecahedron are found in the northern parts of the Roman Empire where winter nights are longer and candles were more necessary and valuable.

[thefonztm]

I favor the idea of a curvature measuring device. The knobs provide 5 contact points that provide a uniform plane for every single side. The various circles are how you determine what curvature you have measured. For a given round stone, only one side of the dedecahedron will form contact of the edge of the circle and all five knobs. It's tricky to describe with words, better with a drawing. If the knobs contact but the circle does not, the stone's curvature is less than that side is designed to measure. If the hole is in contact with the stone, but some or all of the knobs are not, the stone curvature is greater than that side is designed to measure. Repeat until you have a good fit and now you know the curvature - of that particular spot! Slide it around the stone to test if you have a nice and uniformly round stone.

[williefisterbottom]

I had a theory years ago when I first heard about the roman dodecahedrons and wondered if anyone else has had a similar one.. To me, the most logical use for these would be for the construction of tents and canopies. Using wooden poles inserted into the holes on selected faces of each dodecahedron and lashing them together using the little "nubs" that are on the vertices, a person should be able to create a number of different roof configurations. Once the skeleton of the structure is complete, you just throw the tarps or whatever over it and raise it up. Seems this would be useful for military purposes, which would explain them being found at military sites much of the time. The varying hole sizes might be explained as housing different diameter poles for sections not needing as much support, or maybe for secondary structures like lean-tos or something. I'm not an engineer or a historian, so there may be a good reason why this wouldn't work. I'd love to know if anyone has tried it.

[fibrewire]

They were for measuring the correct amount of spaghetti needed depending on how many you were cooking for

[michaelkaster]

most likely a gauge for wooden shafts for arrows, javelins and such. The smiths would have molds to make the head to fit the shafts of a specific size. In places with low forestation they would use reeds for making arrow shafts, so that would explain finding them in the water

[billlucas]

Wonder no longer. Weaving is close. These are fixtures, or jigs for making cordage, including bow strings.
That's way they are found around military camps (also on shipwrecks). Wax is used to coat the fibers to reduce
water absorption, even today for archery enthusiasts. The Romans used a variety of implements up to a ballista.
Send me my reward in talents.Bill

[dustinjef]

The surviving one are made of metal this doesn't mean there arent others made from wood that simply did not survive the ages.

Its very possible we are only finding the most decorative of the ones made becuase the cheap ones all eventually broke.

[tucsontim]

It was a game of chance, whereby a small stone large enough to pass through the smallest hole was the easiest level, and one that can only pass through the largest was the hardest. Soldiers would load a stone into the middle, toss it on the ground, and win a round when a stone falls through the bottom. The nobs provided a small gap to allow the stone to fall out.

[Robbyrool]

It’s used to randomly determine the player’s reward. You roll it like a die, the balls make it bounce more as it rolls on a hard surface, or dig in on soft ground, whichever size hole is facing up your gloves are made with that size fingers, and you also measure out that much spaghetti for dinner.

[colinharbinson]

This is what happens when you don't keep the box it came in!.

[ericmorriscompany]

In lost wax casting the wax is “lost” by melting the wax out of the plaster mold. The mold then is “burned out” to further remove the last traces of wax. The remnants of the wax literally burns off. Then with the mold at 1000 degrees centigrade molten bronze is poured in. The wax in the found dodecahedron cannot be remnants of the casting process.

[klausheidlberg]

It's like the distant future trying to explain a fidget spinner...

[nightlite]

For what it's worth, I think this is part of a Roman 'ball & rod' construction kit.

Want a cube tent? Cut eight hazel sticks. Get four 'gadgets' and stick the sticks in the holes. Secure them by winding twine around the nodules. Chuck your skins or 'groundsheet' over the top.

In this way, you could construct tents and awnings very quickly... I admit that the ones without holes are a puzzle, unless holes were drilled in the wood and just twine held them in place.

[vonchilliman]

These dodecahedrons are found at military sites. Military life involves a lot of waiting around and boredom. This, to me, suggests a use in gaming or entertainment. Roman soldiers using these d12's (12 sided dice) for playing an early version of Dungeons and Dragons!
Or even more likely, used in a drinking game of some sort - again incredibly important in military circles.

[pantitapalittapongarnpim]

"Why would anyone spend so much time and money crafting the game out of metal instead of wood?" Because they are the only ones that survive to us perhaps? Wood wouldn't have survived for this long unless something truly exceptional happened to them. That doesn't mean the wood version didn't exist if indeed there was such a thing.

[daviddavidson]

Two hypotheses
1) It was the roman equivalent of a slot machine. The fact that it lands small hole down the most often makes sense in this case. You would make a bet, then a coin (or coins) would be placed into it and the larger coins would have little (or no) chance of falling through the small hole. You then would roll it like a die but because its weighted in a way that the small hole has a higher chance of landing face down it means that the house has a higher chance of winning. The knobs on it are there both for decoration and to allow the coin to drop out of the hole. A lot of it is decorative (such as the extra rings carved around the holes) which goes in line with modern gambling devices such as slot machines.
Makes sense to find them at battle sites as soldiers needed entertainment.
2) It was some sort of utterly useless object like a fidget spinner and that's why it's not discussed, as it was completely unimportant.

[DanWall-dnvb]

It is a whistle for summoning servants or sending a clear audible signal on a battlefield. You blow through it like a whistle or a kazoo and each different hole will produce a different sound, pitch, or note that all have a particular meaning.