Floyd
Antediluvian
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2019
- Messages
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I'm wondering if the holes had coloured glass/ceramics in them?My first thought was 'that would make an amazing ornamental planter.'
I may have been out in the garden a bit too much lately.
I'm wondering if the holes had coloured glass/ceramics in them?My first thought was 'that would make an amazing ornamental planter.'
I may have been out in the garden a bit too much lately.
It has been suggested that it's a knitting device (though not everybody's convinced).Any ideas?
Roman object that baffled experts to go on show at Lincoln Museum
A mysterious Roman artefact found during an amateur archaeological dig is going on public display in Lincolnshire for the first time.
The object is one of only 33 dodecahedrons ever found in Britain, and the first to have been discovered in the Midlands.
It was found in Norton Disney, near Lincoln, in the summer of 2023.
The artefact is also one of the largest ever found, measuring about 3in (8cm) tall and weighing half a pound (245g).
The 12-sided object was unearthed by a group of local volunteers.
The group of volunteers plans to return to the area where the dodecahedron was found in the hope of unearthing more clues
Richard Parker, secretary of the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, said it was a "privilege to have handled" the object, thought to have been buried about 1,700 years ago.
However, he said: "Despite all the research that has gone into our dodecahedron, and others like it, we are no closer to finding out exactly what it is and what it might have been used for.
"The imagination races when thinking about what the Romans may have used it for. Magic, rituals or religion - we perhaps may never know.
"What we do know is the Norton Disney dodecahedron was found on the top of a hill in a former large pit of some kind. It seems it was deliberately placed there."
The mysterious objects date back as far as the 1st Century. Some experts believe they were possibly linked to Roman rituals or religion, but there are no references to them in any Roman texts.
The volunteers plan to return to the area where the dodecahedron was found in the hope of unearthing more clues.
The Norton Disney dodecahedron, which featured in a recent episode of the BBC Show Digging for Britain, will be on display at Lincoln Museum as part of the city's Festival of History from Saturday.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-68908558
Interesting stuff and also a little surprised (and pleased) that archaeologists still use imperial measurements (inches and pounds)Any ideas?
Roman object that baffled experts to go on show at Lincoln Museum
A mysterious Roman artefact found during an amateur archaeological dig is going on public display in Lincolnshire for the first time.
The object is one of only 33 dodecahedrons ever found in Britain, and the first to have been discovered in the Midlands.
It was found in Norton Disney, near Lincoln, in the summer of 2023.
The artefact is also one of the largest ever found, measuring about 3in (8cm) tall and weighing half a pound (245g).
The 12-sided object was unearthed by a group of local volunteers.
The group of volunteers plans to return to the area where the dodecahedron was found in the hope of unearthing more clues
Richard Parker, secretary of the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, said it was a "privilege to have handled" the object, thought to have been buried about 1,700 years ago.
However, he said: "Despite all the research that has gone into our dodecahedron, and others like it, we are no closer to finding out exactly what it is and what it might have been used for.
"The imagination races when thinking about what the Romans may have used it for. Magic, rituals or religion - we perhaps may never know.
"What we do know is the Norton Disney dodecahedron was found on the top of a hill in a former large pit of some kind. It seems it was deliberately placed there."
The mysterious objects date back as far as the 1st Century. Some experts believe they were possibly linked to Roman rituals or religion, but there are no references to them in any Roman texts.
The volunteers plan to return to the area where the dodecahedron was found in the hope of unearthing more clues.
The Norton Disney dodecahedron, which featured in a recent episode of the BBC Show Digging for Britain, will be on display at Lincoln Museum as part of the city's Festival of History from Saturday.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-68908558
Wouldn't there be traces of this if there were? Also grooves around the apertures to fit the glass into (like the grooves around window frames)?I'm wondering if the holes had coloured glass/ceramics in them?
These have always fascinated me, I saw somewhere one theory was they were used for knitting glovesAny ideas?
Roman object that baffled experts to go on show at Lincoln Museum
A mysterious Roman artefact found during an amateur archaeological dig is going on public display in Lincolnshire for the first time.
The object is one of only 33 dodecahedrons ever found in Britain, and the first to have been discovered in the Midlands.
It was found in Norton Disney, near Lincoln, in the summer of 2023.
The artefact is also one of the largest ever found, measuring about 3in (8cm) tall and weighing half a pound (245g).
The 12-sided object was unearthed by a group of local volunteers.
The group of volunteers plans to return to the area where the dodecahedron was found in the hope of unearthing more clues
Richard Parker, secretary of the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, said it was a "privilege to have handled" the object, thought to have been buried about 1,700 years ago.
However, he said: "Despite all the research that has gone into our dodecahedron, and others like it, we are no closer to finding out exactly what it is and what it might have been used for.
"The imagination races when thinking about what the Romans may have used it for. Magic, rituals or religion - we perhaps may never know.
"What we do know is the Norton Disney dodecahedron was found on the top of a hill in a former large pit of some kind. It seems it was deliberately placed there."
The mysterious objects date back as far as the 1st Century. Some experts believe they were possibly linked to Roman rituals or religion, but there are no references to them in any Roman texts.
The volunteers plan to return to the area where the dodecahedron was found in the hope of unearthing more clues.
The Norton Disney dodecahedron, which featured in a recent episode of the BBC Show Digging for Britain, will be on display at Lincoln Museum as part of the city's Festival of History from Saturday.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-68908558
I just found the absolutely brilliant "How To Be A Gardener" and now I'm a TitchmarsherMy first thought was 'that would make an amazing ornamental planter.'
I may have been out in the garden a bit too much lately.
It has been suggested that it's a knitting device (though not everybody's convinced).
Escargot posted this link a few years ago on another thread.
https://forums.forteana.org/index.p...useum-objects-devices-etc.67470/#post-2318664
Well there are grooves (to my eyes anyway).Also grooves around the apertures to fit the glass into (like the grooves around window frames)?
I wonder if the holes on opposing faces are the same size, or different? It does look like some kind of measuring tool.View attachment 76270
Perhaps a piece of wood or metal was routinely placed through these smaller holes?
I had the same thought, but apparently the opposing holes (according to the text I read) are different sizes.I wonder if the holes on opposing faces are the same size, or different? It does look like some kind of measuring tool.
Your mentioning the knobs triggered a memory, and gave rise to a train of thought that ended with the daftest suggestion for the purpose of the dodecahedra that I've ever heard of.If each hole's inlet and outlet don't correspond in terms of size, that arguably narrows the field of possible solutions a little.
Also...the little bobble-type things are a sort-of clue. I mean, they aren't exactly decorative, and so these most likely had a functional purpose; even if only as a steadying device for the whole thing.
If twine, or similar was tied around the outside corners (via using the knobbly balls) of the dodecahedron connector, to hold the stretched covering tightly so that it could not come apart, then it's a possible reason for them being there.If each hole's inlet and outlet don't correspond in terms of size, that arguably narrows the field of possible solutions a little.
Also...the little bobble-type things are a sort-of clue. I mean, they aren't exactly decorative, and so these most likely had a functional purpose; even if only as a steadying device for the whole thing.
Accompanying the brass model was a set of wooden dowels of different diameters, which could be tried in the various holes, but only one would fit neatly.
You mean the Roman artefact is one of these?it's a sorting toy! I had a wee bench with holes and appropriately shaped bricks to be hammered in to the correct one. Except that I carefully and over several months rubbed the blocks down on the rough brick of the garden wall and then they could all go through any holes. I was so proud that I had solved the problem...
They were a bit sluggish about establishing the nature of the dye.
In other words, they had to shell-out a lot in order to purchase that stuff!They were a bit sluggish about establishing the nature of the dye.
Roman snail dye found in UK for first time
Frank Giecco
About 12,000 snails were needed to make two grams of the precious pigment in Roman times, archaeologists said
A rare dye made from snails for the robes of the Roman elite almost 2,000 years ago has been unearthed at a cricket club.
The chunk of Tyrian purple, roughly the size of a ping pong ball, was dug up at Carlisle Cricket Club as part of ongoing yearly excavations.
A Roman bathhouse was discovered at the site in 2017 and in the last three years 2,000 items including pottery, weapons, coins and semi-precious stones have been found.
Lead archaeologist Frank Giecco said the find was of "international significance" and the first time the precious pigment had been discovered in the UK.
Excavations at the site, discovered in 2017, have unearthed weapons, pottery and signet ring gems
Mr Giecco said the pigment was worth more than gold and would have been used to dye the clothes of figures in the imperial court and the "highest echelons" of society.
He said it was made from the glands of marine snail and about 12,000 were needed to obtain less than 2g of pigment.
"The collection of the snails and processing of the glands would have been very time-consuming, " Mr Giecco said, adding: "Hence the reason it is so expensive. It was used in ancient Greek and Roman wall paintings, as well as used as a dye in textiles."
The dye, which was mixed with beeswax to preserve it, was discovered at the site in October. However, it has taken several months of chemical analysis to verify that it is purple Tyrian.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjje132jvygo