Roman Dodecahedron

History · Museums

The Bassenge Dodecahedron at the Grand Curtius, Liège

Key points

  • Found in a funerary context at Bassenge, province of Liège, in 1888/89, with pottery and a bronze tray.[GC]
  • Lost-wax cast; 4.5–4.8 cm high including the corner balls, each ball 3 mm.[GC]
  • The museum leans toward a divination use, citing the Geneva zodiac die.[GC]
Two Roman dodecahedra from Tongeren and Bassenge of different sizes
Dodecahedra from Tongeren and Bassenge at the “Top or Topic” exhibition, Centre Céramique, Maastricht. Photo: Kleon3, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).

The object

The Grand Curtius describes a hollow, openwork regular dodecahedron, cast by the lost-wax technique, with twelve equal pentagonal faces each pierced by a circular opening of varying diameter. Concentric circles are engraved around ten of the openings, and each corner has a small sphere 3 mm across.[GC] It came from excavations by the Fraikin brothers at Bassenge in 1888 and 1889.[GC2]

Context

Bassenge dodecahedron
FindGrave, Bassenge (province of Liège)[GC]
WithVarious pottery and a bronze tray[GC]
Date2nd–4th century AD[GC]
Height4.5–4.8 cm with spheres[GC]

The museum's view

The museum lists the common proposals as sceptre heads, candlesticks, calibrators, distance-measuring tools, masterpieces or dice for predicting the future. It finds most enticing the idea of divination games, supported by the Geneva zodiac die of 1982.[GC] It also notes that more than a hundred Gallo-Roman dodecahedra are recorded, mainly north of the Alps, in military camps, theatres, temples, houses and tombs.[GC]

FAQ

Where is the Liège dodecahedron?

In the archaeology collection of the Grand Curtius museum in Liège, Belgium.

Where was it found?

In a grave at Bassenge, excavated in 1888–1889.

How big is it?

4.5 to 4.8 cm high including the corner spheres.

Sources

  1. [GC] Grand Curtius, Liège, “Dodecahedron” (collection page)
  2. [GC2] Grand Curtius, Liège, “Un objet mystérieux” (collection page, French)

Want a Gallo-Roman dodecahedron on your desk? Our bronze dodecahedron replica is cast by the lost-wax method.