Fragment of a tile with incised chessboard pattern, four token and a cube. There are four rows from the field. Due to the arrangement of the fields it might be the game of brigands (ludus latrunculorum). Two of the shown token are made of glass, the other two of bone. The six-sided die is made of marble.
Board and dice games were not just childhood. Especially Roman men like to go to the tavern in their free time to pass the time with games. Dice games were very popular. Cubes were made of bronze or ivory, but the majority of cubes used were carved from bone. Board games like the strategy game ludos latrunculorum or mill are handed down. They played on wooden, brick or stone boards. Often the playing fields were simply scratched into the ground. Gaming pieces consisted of glass, bone or bronze.
Model: © Landessammlungen Niederösterreich, Niederösterreich 3D
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