Ancient Civilizations Had Game Nights Too!
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Burying loved ones with basic necessities like grains, ceramic pots, and clothing, to ensure their comfort in the afterlife, was a fairly common tradition in ancient cultures. However, the families of some lucky individuals went a step further by including a board game for entertainment. Morten Ramstad, a researcher at the University of Bergen, Norway, and his team stumbled upon one of the rare artifacts — found only in a handful of graves before — while excavating the remains of an Early Iron Age (400-300 BC) burial mound in Western Norway.
Though the game board was missing, the archeologists, who revealed their findings on April 5, 2020, managed to retrieve the die and 18 circular game pieces. Unlike the modern-day cubical dice, which are marked with a different number of dots from one to six on each face, the ancient game counter was rectangular and had bulls-eye like indentations, indicating zero to five, on each of its four faces. The researchers speculate it may have been inspired by the oldest-known board game — Ludus latrunculorum, or the "Game of Mercenaries" — which was popular among ancient Romans. The two-person strategy game, which dates back to the 3rd century BC, was believed to be similar to chess or backgammon.
The archeologists, who also unearthed remains of pottery jars, glass shards, and a bronze needle at the burial mound, believe the game pieces indicate the deceased was a wealthy individual. Ramstad and his team assert that in ancient civilizations, board games were a status symbol, signifying the owner's high social and economic standing. They indicated an individual's intellectual ability and also proved he/she could afford to spend time on such activities.
"These are status objects that testify to contact with the Roman Empire, where they liked to enjoy themselves with board games," Ramstad told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. "People who played games like this were local aristocracy or upper class. The game showed that you had the time, profits, and ability to think strategically."
The researchers, who plan to put the restored game pieces in a museum, say the discovery provides insights into Norway's social structure during the Early Iron Age and gives a glimpse of what tabletop fun, at least for the elite, looked like during ancient times. "Finding a game that is almost two thousand years old is incredibly fascinating," Ramstad told NRK. "It tells us that the people then were not very different from us."
Resources: scienealert.com, smithsonianmag.com, www.uib.no
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111 Comments
livirenickover 4 yearsthat is cool
jazzybear1234over 4 yearsThis was a very interesting story
sharkyplaygamesover 4 yearsThis is a very interesting story I think it's so cool because they lived long ago and they actually found things that belonged to them I love to play board games so this was fun to listen to. In the story it said they lived more than 2 thousand years ago. And I like how they put it in museums for other people to see these are so old I wish I could go to the museum to see those accent artifacts. I'm a science person so this was one of the best stories I've ever heard!!!!
beepiestbeepover 4 yearspretty cool
fornitegamer0over 4 yearscool
good-dogover 4 yearsso cool!❤ love DOGO news- reece2027over 4 yearsSomething I learned was that Prehistoric people did game nights too which is really cool. I think it now a traditional thing to do.
- reece2027over 4 yearsSomething I learned was that even prehistoric people did game nights too which was really cool. I think this is a traditional thing to do for everyone.
benedicta79over 4 yearsIt is amazing to think about how they made that in past ancient Civilization time.
helen0916over 4 yearsthis is really cool. I knew DOGO news has the most interesting facts! It's the best!
