Roman Dodecahedra
- Date of account
- Approximately second to fourth centuries CE
- Location
- Northern and western Roman provinces, especially Gaul and Britain
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
Roman dodecahedra are small hollow bronze objects with twelve pentagonal faces, knobs and circular openings of varying sizes. More than a hundred examples have been reported from northern Roman provinces, but their purpose is unresolved. Proposed functions include measuring instruments, candle holders, knitting gauges, gaming or ritual objects, none universally accepted. Their distributions, find contexts and occasional inscriptions make them useful for comparing provincial material culture and specialist practices. The objects are not evidence of mysterious technology by themselves; interpretation depends heavily on excavation context, dating and the reliability of older collection records.
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