The mystery continues concerning these ancient roman dodecahedron shaped artifacts that have been found all over Europe but mostly in France, Germany, and Switzerland. They range in size from 4-11 cm. These objects have been puzzling archeologists for a while now. What are they? What are their purpose? And the mathematical shape? Where did they ancient people get knowledge of a dodecahedron – or is this not so rare? (photo above: foxnews.com)
So what is a dodecahedron anyway? See the short video above. Well, it’s a geometrical shape – a polyhedron that has 12 flat sides in the shape of pentagons, and three of the flat faces or pentagons meet at each vertex (or edge). The Wikipedia page has a rotating dodecahedron which is really cool to watch. This particular shape is part of what is called Sacred Geometry – due to the mystical nature of the shape. And the dodecahedron is also thought now to be the shape of our Universe! In the roman dodecahedron objects, each pentagon has a small circle in the middle. Wonder why?
About the only thing that archeologists have done – is name the objects. They date to around the 2nd or 3rd AD century. So why so much of a mystery?
(photo top left: en.wikipedia.org photo middle: pbmo.wordpress.com photo top right: herefordshire.gov.uk photo bottom left: detecting.org.uk)
The Romans supposedly kept excellent records – and don’t seem to have mentioned these particular objects in their records. So their purpose remains a puzzle.
What are the hypothesis’ that people have come up with? Since the dodecahedron has 12 sides, maybe it is a representation of the 12 zodiac signs. Other theories have been candlestick, weapon of war, toy, weather gauge, some kind of astronomical instrument, and even a religious artifact. So many are being found all over, and one even found in a burial ground, we may never know the true purpose.
Since they are hollow, and small, the first thing that comes to my mind is jewelry of some kind. Maybe some kind of gem was put inside the hollow part. Knobs have also been found on some of the objects, maybe a way to keep the gem inside the object? It’s only speculation.
Books, classrooms, bloggers, and websites have tried to identify the purpose of these roman dodecahedrons. And many arguments have ensued. Will we ever learn the true purpose?
Anyway, the quest is on for solving this mystery of the Roman Dodecahedrons. They come in various dodecahedron shapes, as you can see by the pictures. What do you think they were used for? Any ideas?
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{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
my first impression is a form of ‘stand’ for handle-like objects, perhaps war weapons. Spears, javelins, other handled devices. If the holes align so that putting an object in one will allow it to go through another, they could provide a common stability, much like the way muzzle load guns used to be stacked in tripods.
My guess is that they might have been some sort of decorative tying knob for tent ropes or string. Maybe even hair, though they seem a bit large for that. The string or ropes or hair would go through the holes. It might have even been used for rolling string up into a ball. And that gives me a thought they might have been the hollow basis for some sort of ball used in a sport.
It’s like a jack as in the game of jacks. Big, so played differently than contemporary game. Also called knuckle bones. Probably just pitched one, sort of like a die with the face meaning something. Maybe used it like reading pigeon entrails in ancient world. Maybe was a Gallic game modified by Romans.
HI IM BOB
Might it be possible that this is a rudimentary looming device? Possibly to pull string/yarn through the holes and wrap them in some formation around the knobs…possibly for making a net?
For some reason, the moment I saw the example on the top of this page, I immediately thought “Jacks”. The game used to very common amongst children and consisted of a small rubber ball and little metal pieces that were criss-crosses within cubes (more or less) and some of the ends had little “balls” on them like the example and some didn’t. Ostensibly, the little ball-shaped “tips” were put there to make picking up the “jacks” easier (something to “grab onto”) because the object of the game is to bounce the ball by hitting it once on the floor or ground and, then, using that same hand, scoop up one (then 2, then 3, then 4, etc.) of the jacks before catching the ball with the same hand and going to the next number (“twosies”, “threesies”, “foursies”, etc.). The shape, I imagine, evolved probably from very early times to the present day design since the game of “jacks” is quite old. The variations in shapes could easily be accounted for by differences in geographic areas and the different availabilities of materials from each of those areas as well as slight differences in culture.
I am going re-state a point that I mentioned before. The things have knobs for some reason. The people in those days frequently used cookpots in fires. The simple answer is that cooks put herbs or whatever into these devices and threw them in the cookpot. The knobs prevented direct contact with the bottom of the pot, where they could stick and burn (or floating on top, for that matter). The device also allowed the cook to re-use some herbs more than once. Furthermore, different size holes means different types of herbs, spices or whatever. When people quit using open fires for cooking their use would have declined. And, finally, if the use were religious they would be mentioned in associated texts. Since they were so mundane, they were seldom, if ever, written about.
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People keep coming up with a utilitarian purpose for these things because of the holes in them. What, then, about the one pictured, and others if you do a Google search, that have no holes, only designs?
Of those with holes, the holes are of various sizes even within individual objects, so if you were using them to hold tent poles, the Romans standardized pretty much everything and the tent poles would have had bronze or iron tips of a standard size, making many of these objects useless for tent poles.
I looked up knitting spools on Google and that might work for some of these objects but not for others, and in any case, 6 knobs are required, not 5 and certainly not the plethora of knobs all over the objects. The ones with no holes at all would be useless for knitting.
These are purely symbolic objects. You just can’t get away from it. Some of them could be actually used for holding incense sticks or hair pins or chopsticks or whatever, but they’re too different in appearance to have one common use, as some suggest, rather than being simply representative and not utilitarian. They were a fad, that passed. Like pet rocks.
Dennis – I just made a model dodecahedron yesterday and have already learned how to knit on it, almost. But I believe I already see the purpose of the shape, and the reason for 5 knobs on each surface. I’ll find out after more “French knitting”, which is what using a spool is called. Anyway a knitting spool can have anywhere from two to hundreds of knobs. And the other pewter colored object, although not a dodecahedron, would also work.
I think I found a modern day counterpart. Its called a “knitting spool”, used to make cord, or larger ones for cording(?) rope. Check out some of the Google images and watch a video on how the spools are used. The dodecahedron can do all that a knitting spool can do, possibly more. May I go back to sleep now?
Sorry for re-posting again so quickly, but I love a good mystery and ancient history. I just watched some videos on knitting, and the Dodecahedron could very well have been useful for rolling yarn into balls. Also the knobs could have been used for making complicated stitches, and several different colored yarns could have been guided through the holes without tangling. As a tool for knitting it could also explain the apparent lack of wear. The yarn would polish it more than wear it. Was anything else found in that woman’s tomb?
It Looks to me like it could have been used for knitting. I’m not very familiar with the craft, but I recall seeing people (usually two) unwinding and rewinding wool on the other persons fingers. A tool like this could make it a one person job. The different size holes would match anyones fingers in any position. The tool could be made of ceramic (easier to make and less expensive) or metal (for longevity and status). This might also explain why one was found in a woman’s grave, and why there is no historical record. Women’s work was not much of a subject for Roman historians.
I believe one key to solving it is figuring out what the purpose of the knobby bits could be. Since it takes a bit of work to add them there must be a specific purpose.
First point: There is one thing that the little knobs appear to be well-suited for – other than decoration, that is. Based on their placement, they would prevent close contact between the object and any surface it is placed on. In addition you need more-or-less flat faces to minimize any contact (a sphere is difficult to use in that way – even with the knobs.)
Second point. Why would you want to minimize contact? If placed in a cook pot the design would keep the device (and contents) from having direct contact the hot metal floor of the cook pot. This would presumably prevent burning or sticking to the bottom of the pot. By contrast the balls (in most cases) do not seem to provide reliable or stable support in any free-standing application. I would expect that the reason that a few have no balls is just a matter of economy – cheap versions sold at a discount.
Third point: Applying a bit of logic, the most likely use would be as a holder for cooking ingredients. It would be packed with leaves, a paste of seasoning, or other cooking compounds, dropped in the cook pot, and left to release the contents during cooking. The various sizes and larger/smaller holes would accommodate a variety of ingredients.
Fourth point: In particular, it would allow the cook to use one seasoning holder multiple times by removing it after a specified cooking time.
Fifth point: Being metal, it would hold spices (like herbal leaves) that would otherwise float, and keep them deep in the cooking pot. It could be specialized for a singular application in making herbal solutions.
Sixth point: I believe part of the answer lies in what is NOT found with these objects. Many of the postulated uses involve string, sticks, candles and so forth. If these were correct there would be associated materials found with these dodecahedrons in some percentage of the cases. The absence of such materials, other than some wax (which is not incompatible with food-making), would indicate that anything used in conjunction must be readily biodegradable. Food products would fall easily into this category.
Bottom Line: We have a food preparation conveyance that would be used to apply spices or other components to a cooking pot that is placed in a fire.
Just recently, I learned about this “mistery” of archaeology: the roman dodecahedron. After preparing a copy of a specific object, I proposed a paper on arXiv, explaining that it can be used for measuring distance (as a telemeter). http://arxiv.org/abs/1204.6497
For me, those dodecahedrons having a structure with holes of different sizes, are military instruments to evaluate distances for ballistics. It is simple to use. Of course, later during the Middle Age, different instruments had been developed: the dodecahedron was of the Roman Army, and, probably, its use lost after the collpase of the Empire.
Yhank you for your attention
Perhaps some of these were just for decoration, but the original purpose for building a dodecahedron within the material sphere (Earth) was to keep track of which dimension you were currently occupying. First, each face should be marked with a unique identifier (a zodiac or color would suffice). Second, the user should be astutely aware of the order and relationship of the twelve faces to one another. Third, when you shift (90-90 degree x-z turn) to a closely related dimension, you should observe the dodecahedron to have rotated to a new face on top, but the relative arrangement of the faces to eachother should be consistent. 4th, if you move to a more distant dimension (180 degree x,y, or z mirror turn) the relative arrangement of the twelve faces should be changed (the way the have changed will tell you where you are). Basically, the dodecahedron is a time traveler’s map. I am sure a Roman observed such a device and styled these objects after it. If you find yourself slipping through dimensions unintentiontially (perhaps you have been staring at metatron’s cube? ), I suggest you make a simple one of these and keep it in your house, so that you can keep track of where you are.
All the best to you travelers out there. Unfamiliar but interested in time travel? Start by constructing Metatron’s Cube with a Compass and Straight Edge and you will be on your way to opening up wonderful new possibilities.
Cheers,
B
Brian, that’s a really cool idea for these dodecahedrons. For keeping track of which dimension you are in sounds kinda out there, but I can believe it. I’ll have to look into the Metraton cube. Have never heard of it, but sounds interesting. Anything to do with time travel is fascinating. And I know most don’t believe that time travel is possible, but it is possible. And I believe our ancient ancestors has the knowledge for time travel in some form. Where they got it – who knows. But they did and there is evidence of such. Thanks for the comment.
These artifacts fascinate me. I downloaded an image, attached it to our kitchen fridge, and left it there as a reminder to discuss their use with my family. My husband is interested in Roman history and came up with an idea that I think is plausible. If these were found in Roman camps, perhaps they were used to assemble tents. The holes could support tent poles from different angles and the knobs might serve to secure leather tarps or pole lashings.
Isabel – what a fantastic idea for these oddball dodecahedrons! Supports for tents sound absolutely plausible to me. Thanks for sharing.
You have some honest ideas here. I done a research on the issue and discovered most peoples will agree with your blog. After that early period, the Beatles evolved considerably over the years.
Oh and I should have mentioned in that list of representative purposes, one’s STATUS. Very likely this was a status symbol along the lines of having a degree from Harvard as opposed to one from Podunk. Because only a few hundred of these have been found as opposed to tens of thousands of gold and silver rings, they had to stand for bragging rights to a privileged few.
The more I think about it, it’s very possible that these were the proud possessions of those who studied under Ptolemy or his successors, or completed a course of studies of his teachings at some respected institute of learning.
Dennis, that is exactly what I was thinking after reading your reply to my question. Thank you , by the way. You pointed out to me that “hundreds” aren’t really considered common. So you are right. I was thinking that lots of lots of them were found. So in fact they aren’t all that common. So when realizing this fact, it hit me that since these artifacts were clearly made in materials that would last, and it took time for them to be made, then they had a specific purpose of some kind. Even if that purpose was symbolic. So I thought of these objects belonging to those few people who achieved the status of some kind of wise man, scholar, or shaman type of person. Someone who followed the knowledge and thinking of Ptolemy. Just exactly as you say -like a sign of a degree from Harvard. Thanks for clearing up my facts.
I’m coming round to the ritual view.
The trouble with a utilitarian purpose is that the objects just appear fully formed in the record then vanish.
I can’t believe that some need arose that hadn’t arisen before that the dodo was the only object that would get the job done. Then equally abruptly the need passed and the dodo was never required again.
I’m with Dennis that this was the work of a flash-in-the-pan cult that never really caught on and only had adherents in the NW empire.
I’m tempted to speculate that it was an incense burner – a censor – but one with the symbolic attachments Dennis makes. Charcoal would be placed in the sphere and held out of the ash by the legs. Incense would be burned on a dish placed on the top.
PS I’ve just seen a fragment in the museum of London with three balls on each vertex!
Hi Regina
From what I’ve gathered, they aren’t all that common. “Hundreds” have been found, but there were millions of Roman citizens. Millions of items of pottery have been found, millions of coins, hundreds of thousands of rings, and of weapons, and bracelets. For example. So “hundreds” really isn’t very many, especially considering that they’re made primarily of very lasting materials.
What purpose does a stuffed fish on a wall have? It represents the prowess of the fisherman. The purpose of a football or skiing trophy is to say “I did this”. You don’t use them for anything. Representative objects don’t have purposes other than to represent something. An accomplishment, a goal, a belief, one’s level of education, one’s travels.
Maybe that’s why people have trouble figuring this thing out. They look at it and the first question that pops into their mind is “What do you do with it?” The answer is nothing. You either know what it’s representative of or you don’t. Try to imagine a little gold plated, bronze football with a marble base, the words “Arquette vs Maynard, 1973″ being dug up 2000 years from now in an era where no record of the game of football exists any longer, and then figure out what the apparently useless thing is. You could bash a head in with it, so it must be a weapon. It’s hollow inside so it must have been a container. Perhaps it contained the ashes of some hero, Arquette, of the year 1973. And so on.
I wonder if this could be of Greek rather than that of Roman origin?
What comes to my mind is the ancient city of Helike that was wiped out by an earthquake and tsunami in 373 B.C.
From Wikipedia: Eliki, also known as Dodekapolis (from the Greek words dodeka meaning twelve and polis meaning city), became a cultural and religious center with its own coinage. Finds from ancient Eliki are limited to two 5th century copper coins, now housed in the Staatliches Museum, Berlin. The obverse shows the head of Poseidon, the city’s patron, and the reverse his trident. There was a temple dedicated to the Helikonian Poseidon.
The 5 knobs actually reinforce my opinion that these are models of the Ptolemaic universe. Simply put, stars have 5 points.
I don’t know if their roundness was particularly because celestial bodies, most plainly the Moon, are round, but if you’ve ever done lost wax casting, then you know that little round knobs are vastly easier to make, and do so uniformly, and affix to the wax model than squares or other shapes.
When it comes to a thread and fabric oriented utilitarian design, the first thing that popped into my head was a sock-darning egg. I don’t know about that one.
Lost wax casting was a primary art form in old Rome and they made a vast variety of ornamental objects that way. Door-knockers, fancy horse tack, belt buckles, and on, and all of it was more expensive than beaten copper or iron because of the considerably greater time, effort and craftsmanship involved.
I’m sticking with a Ptolemaic Universe model. Everything seems to point to it, at least in my opinion.
Dennis and Bill, It seems that you guys have some expertise on this subject, or at least know some history about the Romans. You have some great thoughts on these artifacts. I have a question for both of you concerning this. First, since these dodecahedrons are being found all over Europe, and not tied to any specific place – doesn’t that seem to indicate that these objects were very common? Maybe more common than we think? Hence the reason they aren’t written about. I agree that it is feasible that the objects represent the Ptolemaic universe. That makes perfect sense. But their purpose is still in question. Could they be some kind of a sign of say like a rite of passage? Like for young adult males moving into manhood? And that these objects represented to their society that they have now matured and they have learned the knowledge associated with the Universe? I know it might be a stretch. The objects do look symbolic in nature. Just like we have crosses representing religion. And crosses are found everywhere. They have a purpose. Could we be missing something regarding these dodecahedrons?
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…edges and worked faces. Perhaps it just highlights the utilitarian look of the more representative objects. Of course this pragmatic air may be deceiving. Most platonic forms do look utilitarian and it may as you suggest be votive.
Returned then to the common features the knobs are perhaps the most interesting. Most purposes be they votive, decorative or utilitarian could be served without the knobs and we could expect to find some varieties without knobs these being easier and cheaper to produce.
Either the knobs are highly symbolically significant or they, along with the shape and the holes, are important to this type of objects purpose.
There’s more than that to the knobs: they are all spheres or mushrooms – no pegs points or other forms. They are all rounded: no nail heads or snags of any sort. If there purpose were simply to keep the object slightly off the ground (or flat surface) something more simple or peg-like would have done. They look like they’ve been deliberately worked to be smooth and narrower at the base than the head.
I’m not going to stick my neck out too far, and I accept the great symbolic analysis you’ve made Dennis, but if I were to go with a utilitarian use i’d look for something to do with thread and fabric or leather working.
Good analysis Dennis,
The apparent lack of wear and (as you note) variance on a common template does point to a purpose that does not involve heavy use.
I’m not entirely comfortable dismissing a utilitarian purpose. The thing that most intrigues are the features that stay the same and do not vary. If there were a utilitarian purpose these features would be most useful in attesting to the purpose.
The Icosahedron I’d be tempted to dismiss as a derivative art object. Not so much due to it’s 20-sides as to it’s whole design and execution. It looks artsy with it’s scalloped, chorded
First, some things must be eliminated. It’s not a gambling device, weapon or game piece because though some of them have different size holes, others have same-sized holes. Some have designs, some not. What they all have in common is wide variety within the basic form. What other common shapes are like this? The Christian cross is the only one I can think of. The cross comes in many forms but they all symbolize Christianity. The fact that they’re found in both stone and metal means that they were probably carved from wood as well. The larger and more ornate they are, the more prestigious they were. The lost-wax cast ones would not have been cheap.
The dodecahedron’s 12 sides represent the 12 signs of the Zodiac. There are Roman dodecahedrons inscribed with them. There are circles frequently adorning the holes in the sides. The Romans believed in a Universe of spheres within spheres, the Earth was the center of the Universe and everything in it moved in a perfect circular motion. These objects represent the Roman Universe.
What they are is the Roman concept of the Universe. Since they represent a belief, variation in decoration is as natural as variations in the design of the Christian cross. Ptolemy, a Roman, was quite famous in 150 AD for his teachings of the nature of the Universe. Note that these objects came into popularity in the 2nd C. AD and pretty much disappeared after the 3rd, which happens to be the time that the Roman Empire began falling apart from constant invasions and attacks.
These dodecahedrons would have identified the owners as followers of Roman thought and belief, in the same way as a poster of Einstein on a math students wall. Because of the wide variety in their construction, size and appearance they were never used as functional objects, but as symbolic, representative objects, and they fell out of vogue as Rome fell apart.
During the time that these were being made, Rome pretty much ruled the known world and the Roman view of reality was the accepted, and in fact most advanced, thinking known. One of these hanging from your belt or sitting on a table in your entryway told people that you were an enlightened person of knowledge. I think this would have been obvious to anyone living within a Roman community at that time, which would be a good reason why there’s no records of these objects. For the same reason there’s no records I know of, of posters of Einstein on students walls.
Dennis, Wow! Your explanatioin for the roman dodecahedrons is highly probable, and something I didn’t think of – nor anyone else. It was very well thought out , very reasonable, and ties beautifully with the history of the Romans and their beliefs. Thanks for sharing your insight to this mystery. And you may be right on with the reason for them not including these little artifacts in their written records. Just like you state – we don’t have Einstein posters hanging on our walls. You should submit your explanation to whomever is asking for it – which I’m not sure who that would be. But I’m sure you have a winner.