Fragments of bone unearthed at Richborough Roman Fort have been formally identified as coming from a rare Roman tower.
The dice tower, one of only a few known to survive worldwide, was discovered thanks to painstaking detective work by local games researcher Roly Cobbett.
The pieces of bone plating are engraved with geometric rosette patterns and would have once covered a wooden dice tower or 'pyrgus’that dates back from the 4th century AD.
They have just been formally identified as coming from a tower of this kind.
The fragments are now on display in the site museum.
The towers were used to roll dice for gambling and to play popular board games like Duodecim Scripta, the predecessor of backgammon, and were probably designed to ensure fair play.
POSTED: 22/04/2009 12:46:33
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