With a hollow center, 12 sides, and no known uses, Roman dodecahedrons remain one of the great enigmas in archeology. They don’t appear to be used for grooming or personal pleasure and only 33 of these objects have been uncovered in Great Britain’s Roman ruins. A recent discovery in eastern England is now making a splash in the Roman dodecahedron stud world. The Norton Disney Dodecahedron is of the largest and newest Gallo Roman Dodecahedrons ever found and is currently on display at the National Civil War Centre, Newark Museum in Newark, England. It will also be featured in an exhibit beginning on Saturday May 4 at the Lincoln Museum in Lincoln, England.
The strange object was discovered by a group of amateur archeologists in June 2023 in the village of Norton Disney in the Midlands of eastern England. The mysterious object was sitting among the ruins of a Roman pit and was likely placed there about 1,700 years ago. It was found “in situ,” or deliberately placed among 4th Century CE Roman pottery in some sort of hole or quarry. More archeological excavation is needed to clarify exactly what this pit was used for.
[Related: This ancient Roman villa was equipped with wine fountains.]
The cast bronze object is hollow at its middle and is about the size of a clenched fist. It has 12 flat faces that are shaped like pentagons. Each face has a hole in various sizes and all 20 corners have a knob. At about three inches tall and half a pound, it is one of the largest of these mysterious Roman objects ever discovered.
According to the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, it is considered a copper alloy object that is made up of 75 percent copper, seven percent tin, and 18 percent lead. It is also the only example of one of these objects found in England’s Midlands and is an example of very fine craftsmanship.
Lorena Hitchens, an archaeologist specializing in Roman dodecahedrons, told The Washington Post, that “it’s…
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