For the past three centuries, Western European archaeologists have regularly discovered mysterious 12-faced metallic artifacts, and to this day there is no single version of what they are and what they were used for.
Most often these objects are called Roman dodecahedrons. A dodecahedron is a polyhedron composed of 12 regular pentagons. And they are called Roman because they are found only in those places where the Roman Empire once spread.
Main discovery sites
However, sometimes they are called Gallo-Roman dodecahedrons. The thing is that most of them are found in northern Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, and in the south of the Netherlands—regions that were known as Gaul during the Roman Empire, inhabited by Gauls, Celtic tribes.
Discovery locations of dodecahedrons
But often such dodecahedrons are found beyond Gaul, especially in England. This is exactly what happened in June 2023 when a dodecahedron from the Roman Empire, in excellent condition, was discovered during excavations in Lincolnshire, England. It is shown in the photo below.
In total, 33 ancient dodecahedrons have been found in England over the known period, in varying degrees of preservation, and overall in Western Europe, about 130 such finds dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD are known.
Since their discovery, thousands of researchers have puzzled over trying to understand the purpose of these items. The thing is that all the dodecahedrons found are of different diameters and have different external finishes. Some are more “ornate,” others more primitive.
Most have external rounded short “spikes,” but dodecahedrons without “spikes” are also found. Many have circular holes surrounded by decorative rings, but there are dodecahedrons without such finishing. And not all dodecahedrons are made up of regular pentagons. Most are cast in bronze, but there are also iron and even stone ones.
Popular hypotheses
After small traces of wax were found inside one, the most popular version became that they were candle holders. However, firstly, many of the dodecahedrons found have a suspiciously “fresh” appearance, as if they were almost never used in everyday life. And if they were just candle holders, there would be noticeable signs of wear, and they would have been passed down through generations within families.
And secondly, if they were candle holders, archaeologists would find them by the thousands, as candle holders were needed for every household and not just one.
Could they be “elite” candle holders made for the wealthy? And here it is difficult to give an answer because archaeologists have found these items in completely different conditions. The last one, British, for example, was found together with ceramics in a deliberately dug trench.
Experts also reject the theories that the dodecahedrons could have been some kind of measuring instruments, dice (they roll very poorly and flip over), or knitting tools.
Especially puzzling is the complete absence of mention of these dodecahedrons in the Roman literature of the time and the same complete absence of these items in many Roman frescoes and mosaics depicting household items, domestic animals, scenes from mythology, etc.
Maybe they had a cult-religious context? It is known that beautiful and regular shapes played an important role in Greek and Roman cultures over the centuries.
The regular pentagonal dodecahedron was one of the five Platonic solids, representing the cosmos, the universe as a whole, and later in ancient science, such a shape had the “atomon” designation, denoting the smallest part of matter.
Is this a cult item of the Druids?
There is also a theory that dodecahedrons are mainly found in Gaul because they were used in the rituals of the so-called Druids – Celtic priests. There were also Celts living in England, and there were many druidic sanctuaries.
The Druids attached great importance to the external side of religious ceremonies; their rituals, especially sacrificial rituals, were complex (especially the so-called “wicker man”) and were prepared in advance, making special clothes of a certain cut and color. Certain plants and items were also important – mistletoe, for example, was cut only with a golden sickle or a golden knife.
Druids could use dodecahedrons for divination rituals or simply as a beautiful decorative stand for a dish. Moreover, only in special cases, so there were no signs of particularly frequent use on the dodecahedrons.
Perhaps the version with the Druids is the only correct one, because bronze dodecahedrons ceased to be made around the 4th century AD, and by the end of the 1st century AD, the Romans destroyed British druids as a class along with their sanctuaries. The remnants of the Druids hid in Gaul for a couple more centuries until they completely died out under the pressure of Christianity.
