‘One of the greatest enigmas’: Amateur archaeologists discover mysterious Roman object ‘completely unique’

Amateur archaeologists in England have unearthed one of the largest dodecahedrons ever discovered, but how these objects were used remains “one of the great mysteries of archaeology,” according to CNN.

The 12-sided object is one of 33 dodecahedrons from Roman Britain that have been discovered so far, and one of about 130 discovered worldwide.

They are considered “one of the great enigmas of archaeology,” according to the Norton Disney History and Archeology Group, a group of hobbyists in the Lincolnshire region, where the object was discovered in June.

The dodecahedron is 8 centimeters in diameter, hollow inside and covered with 12 holes of different sizes. The 1,700-year-old object will be on display at the Lincoln Museum from May 4 until early September.

The object is one of the largest examples of dodecahedrons discovered so far.

Experts are not sure what these objects were used for by the Romans. “It is completely unique,” said Richard Parker, secretary of the group of amateur archaeologists, who stated that, unlike other objects of this kind discovered in the past, the new dodecahedron is undamaged.

“There must have been a very important reason for the object to be buried in the ground in this way,” Parker said.

Dodecahedrons are not described in Roman literature, nor do they appear in mosaics, according to Parker. Objects also have some characteristics that make it very difficult to determine their true purpose.

All the objects discovered are of different sizes, which means that they were not used for measurement. Since it shows no signs of wear it is unlikely that the object was used as a tool.

Parker’s group hypothesized about the object’s utility: “Most likely it was some kind of religious or ritual object. The Romans were a very superstitious lot and generally needed to see signs to enable them to make decisions in their daily lives.”

The dodecahedron was discovered near a figurine with “strong religious connotations” depicting a Roman god on horseback. The artifact was discovered in 1989 with a metal detector, this type of figurine being found “many times in temples”.

The organization plans to return to the archaeological site this year to conduct more excavations, which Parker hopes will help them determine what the site was used for.

The fact that the dodecahedron was discovered in an archaeological site will help specialists solve the mystery of these objects – in the case of many dodecahedrons found 200 or 300 years ago, the context in which they were discovered is unknown, according to Parker.

“It’s a pretty complex story that we’re only just beginning to unravel,” Parker added.

Editor: Raul Nețoiu

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