In the summer of 2023, a group of British amateur archaeologists in Lincolnshire in Great Britain unearthed a mythical object from the Roman era. It is a hollow dodecahedron, that is, a geometric figure with twelve sides made up of equilateral pentagons. The object is made of a copper alloy and is believed to be 1,700 years old.
Roman dodecahedrons of various sizes have been found in several European countries. The find in Lincolnshire is the 33rd in the UK. It is 12 cm high, weighs 245 grams and is thus one of the largest found in the country. Like other dodecahedrons from the Roman Empire, it has round holes of different sizes on the twelve sides and small spheres in the corners.
– The imagination runs wild
Why the Romans made these objects remains a mystery to the experts. There are no known descriptions or depictions of them in ancient Roman texts.
– Despite all the research that has gone into our dodecahedron, and other similar objects, we have not found out what it is. The imagination runs wild when you think about what the Romans might have used them for. Magic, rituals, religion – we may never get the answer, says Richard Parker, one of the members of the Lincolnshire group, to the BBC.
Photo: Norton Disney History and Archeology Group” loading=”lazy”/>
Shown to the public
The group, called the Norton Disney History and Archeology Group, is now asking for donations to continue the excavation this summer and hopefully find more clues.
The dodecahedron they found last year will be on display at the Lincoln Museum.
The article was first published on Ny Teknik
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