Fragment of enigmatic Roman artefact found in Belgium was possibly used for rituals

[FfFfFfFF 58,120]

A dirt-covered fragment of a cryptic artifact sat undisturbed for centuries in Belgium. Now, the object is puzzling archaeologists. A hobby archaeologist was scanning the ground in Kortessem with a metal detector when he stumbled upon an unusual fragment. The archaeologists recognized the fragment immediately as part of a Roman dodecahedron, the release said.

Despite the extensive reach of the Roman empire, most dodecahedrons have been found in parts of the empire that coincide with the Celtic civilizations. Archaeologists have found about 120 specimens in the Netherlands, Germany, France and the U.K. But what is this quirky object for? Is it a weapon? A tool? Or something else entirely?

Archaeologists aren’t completely sure. “There have been several hypotheses for it — some kind of a calendar, an instrument for land measurement, a scepter, etcetera — but none of them is satisfying,” Guido Creemers, a curator at the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren, Belgium, told LiveScience.

Most experts think the 1,600-year-old dodecahedron was used during magic rituals, LiveScience reported.

Source: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article272234368.html#storylink=cpy

 

[PartySick 172,545]

Woah, that thing looks awesome.

Sometimes I wonder about artifacts like this, where scientists are like "this must have been a very important object used in magic rituals" but then you pluck someone from 1,600 years ago and they'd be like "oh hey, you found my cool paper weight"

[garbage day 11,817]

35 minutes ago, PartySick said:

Woah, that thing looks awesome.

Sometimes I wonder about artifacts like this, where scientists are like "this must have been a very important object used in magic rituals" but then you pluck someone from 1,600 years ago and they'd be like "oh hey, you found my cool paper weight"

the paper weight in question: