Roman dodecahedron: The persistent mystery of the ancient world and the unsolved riddle of science

In December 2020, the French authorities discovered an incredible treasure of 27,400 objects in the hands of a treasure hunter.

Patrice T., a French national living in Belgium, had hidden ancient coins, jewelry, statues and artifacts that he said he found with a metal detector in the orchard he bought just outside Brussels.

The mobilization of the Belgian and French authorities was immediate for the investigation of the suspicious subject, especially from the moment they realized that among the ancients was a Roman dodecahedron, one of the most mysterious objects that comes to us from antiquity.

The small, concave and bronze object consists of 12 seats, each with a pentagon shape. Only 100 have been discovered all these years, dating from the 2nd-4th century AD, and experts are still arguing about their operation.

Were they measuring instruments? Were they astronomical aids? Or maybe it was arms;

The enigma of the Roman dodecahedron is not said to be solved despite the diligent efforts of scholars for nearly 300 years…

What is the Roman dodecahedron?

Most of our dodecahedrons come from the 2nd and 3rd century AD. and their dimensions usually range between 4-11 cm.

Science now has more than 100 dodecahedrons, located all over Europe, from England, Belgium, Germany and France to the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Spain and Hungary. .

The first came to light from the archeological dig in 1739. It was found in a field in the English countryside, in Ancient Coins. “An object made of metal alloy, ancient bronze, consisting of 12 equal seats,” was presented that year at the Society of Antiquities in London.

Archaeologists admired the meticulousness of its construction, but were puzzled when they had to explain what it did well.

Until the middle of the 19th century, when we already had enough in our hands, archaeologists thought of naming them, looking again in Greek: “dodecahedrons” they said, as they had 12 seats.

We now see them in many museums and archeological sites across Europe. And since we do not know exactly what they are, the descriptive signs that accompany them are usually very short.

They have since been studied in detail by many and for many years, but we know nothing more about their origin or function than the uncomfortable truth that we know absolutely nothing.

What is believed to be the dodecahedra of the Romans

An even bigger mystery than their operation is perhaps the way they work. For whom we have no idea again. What did they do and what exactly did they use them for? We do not have in our hands a user manual, the Romans they do not mention them anywhere!

And the Romans were known for their organization and the exhaustive records they kept. So the only thing a modern scientist can do is make simple assumptions.

And the truth is that innumerable theories have been formulated, with more or less the basis in reality. When, say, candlesticks were found in one, some researchers thought it was a simple candlestick.

Others tell us it was gambling, something like dice, and others want it as a measuring device for everything, even setting the ideal date for sowing grain.

For some it was a diameter gauge for water pipes or even an instrument for determining the authenticity of coins. There are those who assume that it had a simple decorative function, that it was adapted to the scepters or coats of arms of military units, while there are those who believe that it functioned as a geometric shape sculpture.

In other words, a work of art that showed the skill of the man who made it, his ability to work the copper. Moreover, the dodecahedrons rarely show signs of wear from frequent use. Maybe they had no practical value, they just functioned as objects of prestige and great value.

It has been thought of as a game by others, which the players caught and threw at each other with the help of a stick. A popular theory developed somewhat recently by the Manchester Museum and gaining some scientific consensus is that it was used as a tool for knitting gloves.

Leaving aside whether he answers the mystery or not, the video made by the museum academics shows exactly how it can be used to make knitted gloves.

Such a function may explain the different sizes of the dodecahedrons (knitting gloves of different sizes), but also the function of the holes (for the formation of the fingers in the gloves).

And because most have been located in the north Europe, where the cold is bitter…

The theory of its use on the battlefield

One of the most accepted theories and the trampled on archeology of the 19th century was that the dodecahedron was a type of weapon, probably the head of a bat or even a slingshot.

Academics later dismissed this hypothesis, the dodecahedrons remain light enough to do serious damage to the enemy. And at the same time we know that the Romans hurled solid lead balls, nothing as elaborate as the hollow dodecahedron.

Later another theory emerged that wanted the Roman dodecahedron to be used as a measuring device on the battlefield, to calculate the range. The hypothesis tells us that they used it to accurately measure the orbit of a missile, which probably explains the different sized holes of the twelve pentagons.

The researchers hypothesized that they could be used to calculate the distance of an object of known dimensions (such as a military banner or a projectile) by simply looking through pairs of unequal holes in the dodecahedron.

Theoretically, only one pair of holes can be used to find the respective distance. The theory was reinforced by the fact that many dodecahedrons have been found on Roman battlefields.

The hypothesis, however, was refuted by modern investigators. The Hungarian historian Tibor Grull analyzed the available literature in 2016 of dodecahedrons and indicates that we have not found even two dodecahedrons of the same size (or ratio). And none bears numbers or letters, as one would expect in a mathematical instrument.

If it was a military-type tool, then why has it not been found everywhere in the lands that once made up Roman territory? The vast majority of the dodecahedrons were located in northern Europe.

A small variation of this theory turns the dodecahedron into a spirit level. The only problem with all this?

Not only the fact that they are not supported by any evidence, but also that their inspirers can not even adequately explain exactly how the Romans used them for these purposes. Any purposes…

The astronomical instrument hypothesis and other interpretations

It is not the most popular theory, but it is the most interesting. The one that wants the Roman dodecahedral astronomical instrument to determine the ideal day for sowing grain.

According to researcher GMC Wagemans, “The dodecahedron was an instrument of astronomical calculation, through which the angle of sunlight could be measured and thus determined a specific date in spring and a date in autumn. “The dates he gave were probably important to agriculture.”

The Wagemans’ hypothesis has been much debated, but the objections raised have the same basis: if they were to function as an astronomical instrument of any kind or kind, then the dodecahedrons would be similar in size (or proportions). But as we know from what we have in their hands, their dimensions do not follow any pattern or rule, we have found them in many sizes and configurations.

The easiest case, since you do not need any demonstration of the service, is the one that wants religious relics, like the ones recruited by Celts in Britain and Caledonia (present-day Scotland). But here we have no written evidence or even any evidence to support such a theory.

In the context of this uncomfortable freedom to formulate theories without practical consideration, some want the dodecahedron to be something very simple. Maybe a game for the legionnaires, so that they are forgotten by the sufferings of the campaigns.

Or a child toy possibly. Or a gambling game, one that the Romans liked so much. Roman dice had six sides, were much smaller and made of wood or ivory. The dodecahedra could not be something like dice, as one side is always heavier than the other (due to the uneven holes), so they always fall in the same direction.

Even as balls of an ancient bowling, some sources have seen it, without feeling obliged again to present something to support their claim.

Many academics suggest that the dodecahedrons may have played a role in religious or cultural settings. Many have been found in the Gaul lands of Europe, even in the burial monuments of wealthy citizens.

The dodecahedron may have adapted to a scepter, acquiring magical properties. This is at least the view of the Gallo-Roman Museum in Belgium, which claims that it may even have had divinatory uses.

Its 12 seats also refer to the zodiac and we know that the Romans were very interested in divination and divination.

But even here, the whole debate is purely theoretical, on the verge of speculation. “We have no source from antiquity to give us any explanation for the function or meaning of these objects,” says Rüdiger Schwarz, an archaeologist in Roman excavation outside Frankfurt, Germany, “any of these theories may be true, but none can be validated or refuted.”

The Roman icosahedron that ignited the mystery

As scientists debated the origin and use of the dodecahedron, Benno Artmann thought of deepening the enigma by discovering a Roman icosahedron. The object existed for years in the basement of a museum, taking it for another dodecahedron.

What was that; In the light of the discovery, some fatally wondered if there were other Roman polyhedra of different dimensions waiting for us to bring them to light from the lands that were once the Roman Empire.

Without archaeological or historical evidence, all theories, now tens of thousands, remain largely in the air. Everyone is betting on the archeological dig, hoping to bring to light one day something related to the function of the enigmatic object.

Despite the age-old unanswered questions, one thing is certain: the dodecahedron was an object of value, material or emotional.

This is because we usually find them buried in treasures, among gold coins and other valuable artifacts.