Roman Dodecahedron

History · Finds

The Tongeren Dodecahedron and Belgium's Gallo-Roman Finds

Key points

  • A complete bronze dodecahedron was found in 1939 just outside Tongeren's Roman city walls.[LS]
  • The museum record dates it AD 150–400; the find spot is the Leopoldwal.[W]
  • A corner fragment found near Kortessem was identified by the museum in December 2022 and put on display beside it.[LS]
Bronze Roman dodecahedron found at Tongeren in 1939, with round holes and corner knobs
Bronze dodecahedron, AD 150–400, found at Leopoldwal, Tongeren, in 1939. Gallo-Roman Museum Tongeren. Photo: Gallo-Romeins Museum Tongeren, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).

The 1939 find

Tongeren, the oldest town in Belgium and a Roman city, has produced one of the best-known Gallo-Roman dodecahedra. It was found in 1939 just outside the Roman city walls and is displayed at the Gallo-Roman Museum.[LS] The Wikimedia Commons record for the museum's photograph gives the date range AD 150–400, the find spot Leopoldwal and the museum number 4002.[W]

Close view of the Tongeren Roman dodecahedron showing different hole sizes
The 1939 Tongeren dodecahedron at the “Top or Topic” exhibition, Centre Céramique, Maastricht. Photo: Kleon3, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).

The Kortessem fragment (2023)

Metal detectorist Patrick Schuermans found a fragment in a ploughed field near Kortessem, in Flanders. It is one corner with a single knob, from a dodecahedron that originally measured just over 5 cm across. The museum identified it in December 2022 and put it on display next to the 1939 piece.[LS]

The Flanders Heritage Agency said the fractured surfaces suggest it was deliberately broken, possibly during a final ritual. Wall-painting fragments at the site point to a possible Roman villa. Because the finder recorded the spot properly, it was the first time archaeologists knew the exact find location of a dodecahedron in Flanders.[LS]

What the museum thinks

Curator Guido Creemers told Live Science that ideas such as a calendar, a land-measuring instrument or a sceptre are not satisfying, and that the museum thinks the objects had to do with unofficial activities like sorcery and fortune-telling.[LS] See the ritual and divination theory.

At a glance

FindConditionWhere it is
Tongeren (1939)Complete, bronzeGallo-Roman Museum, Tongeren[LS]
Kortessem (2022–23)Corner fragment, about 5 cm original sizeShown beside the Tongeren piece[LS]
Bassenge (1888/89)Complete, 4.5–4.8 cmGrand Curtius, Liège[GC]

Visiting

The Gallo-Roman Museum's website has opening times. Displays change, so check before you travel. Our museum guide lists other places to see one.

Roman dodecahedron in a display case at the Gallo-Roman Museum, Tongeren
On display at the Gallo-Roman Museum, Tongeren. Photo: Carole Raddato from Frankfurt, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).

FAQ

Where is the Tongeren dodecahedron?

At the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren, Belgium.

When was it found?

In 1939, just outside Tongeren's Roman city walls.

What is the Kortessem fragment?

A single corner of a dodecahedron, found by a metal detectorist near Kortessem and identified by the museum in December 2022.

Sources

  1. [LS] T. Metcalfe, “Mysterious 12-sided Roman object found in Belgium may have been used for magical rituals,” Live Science, 26 Jan 2023
  2. [W] Wikipedia, “Roman dodecahedron” (accessed Oct 2026)
  3. [GC] Grand Curtius, Liège, “Dodecahedron” (collection page)
  4. [GRM] Gallo-Roman Museum, Tongeren (official site)

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