Roman Dodecahedron

Research

Roman Dodecahedron Research Papers

Key points

  • Eight papers with links, from Duval (1981) to Guggenberger & Leach (2025).
  • Two often-cited works without a DOI: Nouwen (1994), which surveys known examples, and Grüll (2016), which counts more than fifty proposed explanations.[W]
  • Notes say what each paper is cited for; we have not summarised paywalled content beyond that.

Reading list

Author, yearTitleJournalWhy read it
Guggenberger 2013The Gallo-Roman DodecahedronThe Mathematical Intelligencer 35(4)A mathematician's overview; source of the 1739 first record and the find-country list on Wikipedia.
Guggenberger & Leach 2025The Gallo-Roman Dodecahedron and the Receptacle of All BecomingThe Antiquaries Journal 105Recent paper; Wikipedia cites it for the link to classical philosophy and ritual.
Hill 1994Gallo-Roman dodecahedra: a progress reportThe Antiquaries Journal 74Cited for the one-piece Carmarthen casting.
Duval 1981Comment décrire les dodécaèdres gallo-romainsGallia 39(2)A system for describing the objects for comparison (French).
Guillier, Delage & Besombes 2008Une fouille en bordure des thermes de JublainsRevue archéologique de l'Ouest 25A dodecahedron in a recorded archaeological context, by the baths at Jublains (French).
Malleret 1961(Óc Eo dodecahedra)Artibus Asiae 24Gold dodecahedra from Óc Eo, Vietnam.
Sparavigna 2012Roman Dodecahedron as dioptronarXiv:1206.0946The rangefinder hypothesis.
Dragonidesová 2025Mysterium Insolutum: fragments from Hurbanovo and ChotínŠtudijné zvesti AÚ SAV Suppl. 3Slovak fragments outside the empire; Serbian and Asian parallels.

Other works

R. Nouwen (1994) summarises the known dodecahedra and theories in the Bulletin de l'Institut Archéologique Liégeois; Wikipedia relies on it for how they were made. T. Grüll (2016) reviewed the literature and is quoted by Live Science and Mental Floss.[W][LS][MF]

FAQ

What is the best academic paper on Roman dodecahedra?

For an overview, Guggenberger (2013) in The Mathematical Intelligencer; for recent thinking, Guggenberger & Leach (2025).

Is there a list of all known dodecahedra?

Nouwen (1994) compiled one; newer finds such as Norton Disney came later.

Sources

  1. [G13] M. Guggenberger, “The Gallo-Roman Dodecahedron,” The Mathematical Intelligencer 35(4), 2013, pp. 56–60 (cited by Wikipedia)
  2. [GL25] M. Guggenberger & S. Leach, “The Gallo-Roman Dodecahedron and the Receptacle of All Becoming,” The Antiquaries Journal 105, 2025 (cited by Wikipedia)
  3. [HILL] C. Hill, “Gallo-Roman dodecahedra: a progress report”, The Antiquaries Journal 74 (1994) (cited by Wikipedia)
  4. [DUV] P.-M. Duval, “Comment décrire les dodécaèdres gallo-romains, en vue d'une étude comparée”, Gallia 39(2), 1981, via Persée
  5. [GUIL] G. Guillier, R. Delage & P.-A. Besombes, “Une fouille en bordure des thermes de Jublains (Mayenne) : enfin un dodécaèdre en contexte archéologique !”, Revue archéologique de l'Ouest 25, 2008
  6. [MAL] L. Malleret, Artibus Asiae 24, 1961 (cited by Wikipedia for the Óc Eo dodecahedra)
  7. [SP] A. C. Sparavigna, “Roman Dodecahedron as dioptron: analysis of freely available data”, arXiv:1206.0946, 2012
  8. [DRAG] P. Dragonidesová, “Mysterium Insolutum. Fragments of Roman Dodecahedrons from Hurbanovo and Chotín”, Študijné zvesti AÚ SAV, Suppl. 3, 2025
  9. [W] Wikipedia, “Roman dodecahedron” (accessed Oct 2026)
  10. [LS] T. Metcalfe, “Mysterious 12-sided Roman object found in Belgium may have been used for magical rituals,” Live Science, 26 Jan 2023
  11. [TC] S. Tipper, “Beautifully crafted Roman dodecahedron discovered in Lincoln – but what were they for?”, The Conversation, 2 May 2024
  12. [MF] T. Metcalfe, “The Mysterious Bronze Objects That Have Baffled Archaeologists for Centuries”, Mental Floss, 6 Aug 2018

Looking for a Roman dodecahedron for sale? See the solid metal edition, in brass or bronze.