Took me 3 years to admit the Roman dodecahedron thing might be real

I used to laugh at the posts about Roman dodecahedrons being some mysterious lost tech. Three years ago I found one at a dig site near my uncle's farm in Kent, just sitting in a plowed field. I figured it was a modern prank or a weird toy. Last month a researcher from the British Museum came to our local archaeology club and showed us how they might have been surveying tools, not cult objects or candle holders. He brought a 3D printed replica and walked us through how it could measure angles for building foundations. That demo changed my mind completely because it actually made practical sense. Has anyone else had their opinion flipped by seeing one of these objects in person?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric_murphy3624d ago

Found a similar one in a field in Norfolk back in 2018 and tossed it in a drawer for years. Seeing a proper demo of the angle measurement thing is what sold me too, completely changed how I saw the object.

dylanwilliams24d ago

Yeah it's wild how seeing something in person can totally flip your perspective like that. I feel like that happens with a lot of old tech once you actually see how it works rather than just hearing theories about it. Maybe it's just me but I think we underestimate how clever people back then really were.