Why Romans used lopsided die

[guy]

 

A recent study from the Netherlands showed that Roman dice were irregularly shaped and numbered. This could reflect their belief in “fate” than “probability.” 

 

The above is the unforgettable scene from the HBO series “Rome” where Titus Pullo tests his fate with dice in a gambling house.

 

The 28 die studied were found throughout modern-Netherlands and 24 were found to be irregularly shaped.

 

 

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Romans generally believed that the outcome of die rolls was influenced by the will of supernatural entities, or gods. Rolling dice could be a means to communicate or engage with gods, for example, to provide guidance or reveal information about the outcome of a future event. As well, players of games often felt that gods who looked favorably upon them would control die roll outcomes to help win or provide fortune in a game.

This Roman worldview ensured that die shape was free to vary across a wide range of forms because “fate” rather than “probability” dictated roll outcomes.

 

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In a new study, archaeologist Jelmer Eerkens, a professor of anthropology at the University of California Davis, and Alex de Voogt, a professor at the department of economics and business of Drew University in New Jersey, present a different perspective: the asymmetrical features of the dice were related to the way the ancient Romans viewed the role of fate and the gods in the world.

In a previous study, the two researchers showed that over 90% of Roman dice found in the archaeological record are visibly asymmetrical, meaning one of their sides differs in size from the others by at least 5%. In their new work, the pair of scientists analyzed a sample of 28 dice from the Roman era excavated in the Netherlands. Unsurprisingly, 24 of the 28 objects made from clay, metal, and bone were visibly asymmetrical. The larger the difference in size between the six sides of a dice, the greater the odds of rolling the number opposite the side with the largest surface area. In a perfect cube, there should be a 1 in 6 chance of rolling any number, but the odds of landing on the largest side of a Roman dice could be as high as 1 in 2.4. Surely, these kinds of visible biases couldn’t have been missed, especially by the hardcore gamblers playing for hours at end in Rome’s slums.

 

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In short, the shapes of six-sided dice in Roman times are part of a continuum of which the cubic form only became dominant in post-Roman periods. The placement of the pips [spots] may be explained by a production bias and does not necessarily indicate divinatory or gaming preferences, especially since probabilities were not yet widely understood and individual throws remain unpredictable. Today’s preference for a cubic rather than an asymmetrical form, as well as a broad understanding of probability, contrasts that of the Roman world as well as that of some of its neighbors.

 

https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/why-ancient-romans-used-sketchy-lopsided-dice-to-gamble-and-play-board-games/

https://phys.org/news/2022-08-early-romans-lopsided-dice.html

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by guy

[Novosedoff]

Btw the English word "hazard" is essentially derived from Arabic "az-zahr" which translates as "the dice"

Edited October 5, 2022 by Novosedoff

[caldrail]

Interesting rationale about fate rather than probability but isn't that putting the cart before the horse? I mean, I doubt the Romans had any standard for making dice and they certainly weren't mass produced, more likely someone just cut a cube-ish block with "yeah that'll do". The facility to game would be more important to the Romans that any scientific exploration of probability, irrespective of believing fate was the key. 

[Novosedoff]

Sounds like getting off on the toasted bread landing on the buttered side 😂