4 days ago
Norton Disney dodecahedron: Artefact now in Lincolnshire museum
While this might look like a rattle a baby might play with or chew on, this is in fact an ancient Roman dodecahedron (a three-dimensional twelve-sided shape) was first discovered by archaeologists in is one of 33 similar dodecahedrons found in the UK – and this one was found in Norton Disney, near Lincoln in now going to be put on display in Lincolnshire for the very first fans can go see it at the University of Nottingham Museum until January 2026.
The dodecahedron is around 8 centimetres tall and weighs 245 grams – that's about the same weight as a hamster!The Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, who first discovered the dodecahedron, say it's made of copper 130 similar dodecahedrons have been discovered across northern Europe, but this is one of the largest found so earliest of its kind is thought to date back as far as the 1st century (around 100 AD).But a question remains over all of this - what actually is it?
Archaelogist Richard Parker, who was is part of the group who discovered the dodecahedron, said the purpose of the object was a "great mystery"."The curiosity is that people have been finding them for 300 years and nobody has any idea what they are," he want to know, what do you think this dodecahedron was used for?Was it a toy? A decoration? A game die?Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
