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Posted on 09/25/2026 3:02:04 AM PDT by Adder
We all have that one mysterious object in our kitchen drawer that we’ve kept because it looks “important.” You don’t really know what it attaches to or what it does exactly, and, of course, nobody in the house remembers buying it. But throwing it away feels like a decision you’ll somehow regret, so it just continues to sit in the drawer, eminating mystery.
This is basically the same feeling archeologists and historians have when looking at the Roman dodecahedron. It’s a little metal object from Ancient Rome, and it’s so simple with so many deliberate features that you expect an explanation any minute now. Some people think this little twelve-sided wonder was used for simple mechanical tasks like knitting, and then some believe it was even more advanced, perhaps being used to work with complicated math ratios.
And who knows, maybe it was used to communicate with extraterrestials. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess.
(Excerpt) Read more at intelligentfly.news ...
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Maybe it was a spool for wrapping different kinds of line. Yarn, rope, etc. The different sizes would account for the various lengths and thicknesses of the cord that was being wrapped, for ease of transportation.
Lines are very soft, not abrasive, material, which would account for the lack of wear.
The objects are not ubiquitous throughout the Roman empire though. They have been found mostly in frontier provinces, and none found in Italy.
It looks eerily similar. It’s activated by tossing it into the air and tapping it twice. Someone else who has seen the series can help me out here, I’m a little pressed for time this morning….
My dog has toy that looks a lot like that. Maybe I’ll bury it in the backyard so some future archeologists can find it and set the antiquities world aflutter.
Those were used to stop calvary charges. Horse steps on one and loses footing. No mystery at all.
These are also used to make chain necklaces.
Simple. The Romans played D & D.
from the FRchives, sorted:
I put together a panel at the convention I work on to talk about this. The best theory we (one of the other panelists really) came up with is that they were apprentice pieces. Because they used most of the ways to work metal that existed at the time it was a way to prove you had learned all the things, “graduate”, and display one in your shop to show customers to show you could do all the things. Of course, we could be full of beans. Mysteries are fun like that.
HOW ABOUT A STANDARD OF MEASUREMENT OF SOMETHING?
THERE ARE DIFFERENT SIZES OF HOLES-—PERHAPS FOR WHEAT OR SIMILAR...
BASED ON WHAT FITS INTO THE HOLE, THAT IS THE AMOUNT PAID FOR.....
I ALSO GUESSED IT WAS FOR MEASURING THE VOLUME OF SOMETHING
PASTA MAKE THE MOST SENSE
A universal joiner for lashing rods or cords at various angles.
“ PASTA MAKE THE MOST SENSE”
Excepting the Roman Empire fell about 500 years before pasta was introduced to Italy, sure. Hence my joke.
“Or an armorer’s tool for attaching a spear shaft and head?”
I could see it as a tool to make weapons.
But there would be wear around the holes.
The lack of wear on the object is really strange.
That’s a well thought out theory. What’s remarkable is how so many completely different theories seem plausible.
What I like best about it is it also addresses the spread of them. Since they’re only found in the northern stretches of Roman territory, could be that one smith made his apprentices do it, and then some of them carried that on with their apprentices, until eventually the practice petered out.
Or not. Like you say, so many of them are very plausible.
I think that the lack of wear is strange and probably significant.
This was not a cheap and easy thing to make, from what I’ve seen. It seems amazing to me that we do not know its purpose. It could be that the items we have found are largely unused. Worn and damaged items may have been melted down. The objects with identical hole-size may be ornamental.
It is certainly a mystery that I have never heard of.
I had thought that too based on that very info.
But apparently its still a question.
No it isn't. This is just people jumping on the "it's a mystery" bandwagon and making the same claims and same videos for clicks.
I've seen this story before ... roughly 50 years ago, but yea.
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