Vindolanda board game recreated

[guy]

 

 

Researchers in England used a 3D printer to recreate a playable version of Ludus Latrunculorum, the strategic board game that was widely played in Roman Britain. Their model is based on a carved stone board found at Vindolanda, a Roman fort near Hadrian’s Wall that housed several thousand people between the late first and early third centuries C.E.
 

Although only a fraction of the site has been excavated, Vindolanda has produced an extensive archaeological record, including multiple gaming boards that shed light on everyday life.
 

The particular board used for the reconstruction was discovered in 2019, buried between a bathhouse drain and a workshop wall beside a third‑century road. Broken into five pieces, it appears to have been reused as a flagstone, later incorporated into the foundations of a farm.
 

 

Its location outside the fort suggests that civilians—including women and children—played the game, not just soldiers. Vindolanda itself seems to have been a center for ancient gaming culture, with more than a dozen sets of Ludus Latrunculorum found there alone.

 

 

Visitors to Vindolanda will be able to try Ludus Latrunculorum themselves at the Roman Army Museum, using the newly recreated board. Although no complete rulebook survives, scattered descriptions suggest the game worked somewhat like checkers, with two players attempting to capture each other’s pieces by trapping them between their own. Ancient writers mention the pastime under several names, including “the game of little brigands,” “the game of little robbers,” and “soldiers,” reflecting its long‑standing association with strategy and conflict.

 

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Edited July 3 by guy

[guidoLaMoto]

It does sound a lot like checkers....but then, how do they explain the little tablet they found with it that reads "I recte Carcerem...Non passare Ire...Non colligere CC Sisterces"..??

[guy]

9 hours ago, guidoLaMoto said:

 

It does sound a lot like checkers....but then, how do they explain the little tablet they found with it that reads "I recte Carcerem...Non passare Ire...Non colligere CC Sisterces"..??

 

Deversorium in Boardwalk emere volo.  (Google Translate is my friend.)

Edited Saturday at 09:50 PM by guy

[guidoLaMoto]

On 7/4/2026 at 4:49 PM, guy said:

Deversorium in Boardwalk emere volo.  (Google Translate is my friend.)

Well, if you're going to be a copo (proprietor of a caupona or deversorium) maybe you ought to hang on to that "Fugas carcerem liber" card.-->

I never came across the concept of "hotel" in reading Latin texts before. We have mentioned here a few months ago about way stations along the roads-- "stations" (from stare- to stand), temporary stop to change horses and to eat vs "mansion" (from manere- to remain) for an over night stop.

Here's an interesting treatment of accomodations in the ancient world  https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=caupona-harpers&highlight=deversorium