Why Ancient Romans Used Twisted Dice

A pair of researchers from the Universities of California and Drew, believe they may have solved the mystery of why people living during the time of the Roman Empire used lopsided dice in their games. (Getty Images)
A pair of researchers from the Universities of California and Drew, believe they may have solved the mystery of why people living during the time of the Roman Empire used lopsided dice in their games. (Getty Images)
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Why Ancient Romans Used Twisted Dice

A pair of researchers from the Universities of California and Drew, believe they may have solved the mystery of why people living during the time of the Roman Empire used lopsided dice in their games. (Getty Images)
A pair of researchers from the Universities of California and Drew, believe they may have solved the mystery of why people living during the time of the Roman Empire used lopsided dice in their games. (Getty Images)

A pair of researchers from the Universities of California and Drew, believe they may have solved the mystery of why people living during the time of the Roman Empire used lopsided dice in their games.

During the time of the Roman Empire, people played a game called taberna (similar to backgammon), which involved throwing dice. The dice were made out of bone, metal or clay and had symbols shown on the faces to represent numbers, as with modern dice. But they differed markedly in shape. The Roman dice were usually elongated or made into other odd shapes that made them asymmetrical.

In their paper published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, the researchers studied 28 dice from the period and found that 24 of them were asymmetrical. They found a pattern in the irregularity - icons representing one and six were often present on larger opposing surfaces.

Prior research has shown that asymmetry in a die can impact the probability of a given side landing face up. To find out if the Romans made their dice asymmetrical as a means of cheating, the researchers conducted an experiment - they asked 23 students to place marks on reproductions of the asymmetrical Roman dice.

The researchers reasoned that because the students would not know the purpose of the experiment and had no incentive to cheat, they would mostly place the marks randomly. But that was not the case, the students still placed the one and six on the larger sides.

When asked why, many suggested it was easier because starting on a large side meant ending on a large side where they would need to place the most pips - a finding that suggests the Romans were not trying to cheat, but just trying to make life easier for themselves.

Manufacturers and users understood that dice throwing was governed by the fates, not by chances, so the irregular forms were tolerated as an acceptable range of asymmetry.



Syria Seeks EU Help to Battle Massive Wildfires

FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
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Syria Seeks EU Help to Battle Massive Wildfires

FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

Syria’s minister of emergencies and disaster management on Tuesday requested support from the European Union to battle wildfires that have swept through a vast stretch of forested land.

The fires have been burning for six days, with Syrian emergency crews struggling to bring them under control amid strong winds and severe drought.

Neighboring countries Jordan, Lebanon and Türkiye have already dispatched firefighting teams to assist in the response.

“We asked the European Union for help in extinguishing the fires,” minister Raed al-Saleh said on X, adding Cyprus was expected to send aid on Tuesday, AFP reported.

“Fear of the fires spreading due to strong winds last night prompted us to evacuate 25 families to ensure their safety without any human casualties,” he added.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) office in Syria, the fires impacted “some 5,000 persons, including displacements, across 60 communities.”

An estimated 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of forest and farmland -- more than three percent of Syria’s forest cover -- have burned, OCHA told AFP.

At least seven towns in Latakia province have been evacuated as a precaution.

Efforts to extinguish the fires have been hindered by “rugged terrain, the absence of firebreaks, strong winds, and the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance”, Saleh said.

With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has also been battered by heatwaves and low rainfall.

In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said Syria had “not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years.”