Dodecaeder
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A Dodecaeder is a small roughly-spherical hollow object made of bronze or stone, with twelve flat pentagonal faces, each having a circular hole in the middle which connects to the hollowed-out center; they date from the 2nd or 3rd centuries A.D.
About a hundred of these dodecaeders have been found from England to Hungary and to the east of Italy. Most of them were found in Germany and France. They also vary in terms of textures. Most of them are made of bronze but some also seem to be made of stone.
To this day, nobody has a firm conclusion about what they were used for. Speculated uses include: candlesticks, dice, and survey instruments. They are never mentioned in contemporary literature and do not appear in any surviving pictures of the time. There are several theories which would explain their existence, but none is certain, and this may well remain a mystery of history.
- See also Dodecahedron.
External links
- University of Newcastle [online museum of antiquities].
- [Roman Dodecahedra (also includes one Roman icosahedron)]
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