The mystery of the most massive and most mysterious ancient artifact - the “Roman dodecahedron” - has been solved

Roman dodecahedron - Roman Museum in Schwarzenakker (Homburg, Germany). Dodecahedron is from the Greek words δώδεκα 'twelve' and εδρον 'facet'

Archaeologists have found more than a hundred “dodecahedrons” of rather complex shape on the vast European territory, but until recently they could not say anything about their purpose

“The Roman dodecahedron is a twelve-sided enigmatic, mysterious object. It began to be used in Europe with the arrival of the Romans there in the first century BC, but after a few centuries it was forgotten forever.

Its purpose scientists could not reveal for hundreds of years.

“Roman dodecahedrons” were found by archaeologists in a plurality on the territory of the countries of modern Western Europe (France, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Italy and others). The time of manufacture is attributed to the I - IV centuries AD. They were mainly made of bronze, less often of lead and stone. More than a hundred of such items are kept in museums and reserve funds of the listed countries.

A map of Europe shows the places where dodecahedrons were found

Archaeologists have found dodecahedrons in different places: in burials of people, in hoards of coins, four pieces were found in the ruins of a Roman summer house, one in Pompeii (Italy) in a box with women's jewelry, magic items and so on.

The locations of the finds suggest that the objects were used mostly indoors. They were necessary accessories of personal (family) use and, judging by the various external decorations on them (silver trim) partly performed a decorative function. Approximately, as in our days on cutlery (spoons, forks, knives) make the simplest simple patterns, which have no practical purpose.

Dodecahedrons were the size of 4 to 11 cm hollow inside, made of bronze (there are single iron and even stone specimens, V.Ch.).

In the center of the twelve faces there are holes of the same or different diameters, arranged without any strictly established for all regularity.

They were not mentioned in historical descriptions, probably because they had no particularly important purpose.

New archaeological finds in the XX - XXI century have not opened the mystery of the veil and did not give the key to unlock the secret of the ancient Roman dodecahedron.

Scientists have proposed many hypotheses, among them:

mystical,
geodetic,
military,
astronomical,
mathematical,
agricultural versions,
they were called sacred objects of the Pythagoreans,
or as cult objects of the Druids,
or elements of matter,
or even forms of the universe,
later on, scientists came up with ideas of molecular devices, and so on....
Everything that was invented was put together in “one pile” and nothing came out as a result.

Wikipedia lists some suggestions of how dodecahedrons could have been used, such as as:

dice (could well fulfill this role),
a tool for calibrating pipes,
an element of an army standard,
a range finder,
an element for knitting,
a children's toy (analogous to the modern spinner).

Some scientists said that dodecahedrons magically symbolized fire.

The closest version to reality was expressed in 1907, stating that it was a candlestick, because wax was found inside one dodecahedron. A round candle, de, was put in the hole to keep it in it better. But all these versions did not have any significant semantic explanation.

What is it and what was the purpose of the dodecahedron?
The fact that wax was found inside the dodecahedron will serve as a “thread” to unwind the “tangle” of historical mystery.

Let's start with the scientists' statement that the first candles were invented in Ancient Egypt 3 thousand years before our era. They were made of sitnik plant, and the wick was inserted from the core of dried reed soaked in animal fat. Subsequently, beeswax was used to make them. For more plasticity in the manufacture of candles to the melted wax could add vegetable or animal fats.

Natural beeswax is hard and not as plastic and fluid as, for example, modern paraffin.

In ancient times in long dark evenings candles were used to light up rooms and camping tents. The consumption of candles was large. Candles were expensive and not all people had the opportunity to use them every day.

To make candles and their practical use people applied their minds - how to make to control the burning of the candle to make it shine better and longer?

Small-diameter candles burned quickly and were not suitable for long-lasting illumination. That's why they made thick ones. A thick candle burns longer, but it has one disadvantage - as it burns, the wick with the fire goes down inside the candle, its walls do not have time to melt and it does not give light. To keep the wick from charring, it must be constantly moistened with fat (wax).

In order for a thick candle to burn for a long time and at the same time the flame of the wick did not sink into the interior, it was necessary to melt the thick candle evenly along the edges so that the melted fat (wax) from the edges of the candle constantly flowed to its center. For this purpose the ancient inventors invented the “Roman dodecahedron”.

Judging by the size of the found dodecahedrons, the ancient candles were also from 2 to 9 inches.

And it is possible that candles were not always round in cross-section as they are now (although a circle for melting a candle is an ideal consumable shape). Candles could also have been pentahedral (a shape close to a circle). But for the dodecahedron it is not so important, as it could be used equally useful on a round and pentahedral candle.

The dodecahedron was used by placing it on a burning candle - on top of it
Dodecahedrons were of different sizes and were used depending on the thickness of the candles used. The thicker the candle was, the larger the dodecahedron was used.

Candles were of different sizes in cross-section and wicks (depending on the thickness of the candle) were also of different diameters. Therefore, holes in the faces of the dodecahedron were of different diameters to make it as versatile as possible for candles of many sizes.

As the candle burned, the dodecahedron was turned many times during the evening to lengthen its useful life, putting alternately on the candle with faces with holes of different diameters, again for the uniformity of wax melting.

Closer to the wick the metal of the dodecahedron was hotter and the wax under it melted faster, flowing into the “crater” to the center, and further from the wick the metal was colder and the wax under it melted slower. Uniform melting of the candle allowed to increase the burning time, contributed to its complete combustion, did not allow the wax to flow outward along the edges (as it happens with thin candles).

Two dodecahedrons and an icosahedron on display at the Rheinisches Landmuseum in Bonn, Germany. The icosahedron has just one large and many small holes. It was probably what is now called a “decorative light fixture”

In addition, the dodecahedron protected the candle flame from the wind, because in those times it was not easy to rekindle an extinguished fire.

In addition, the light through the round holes in the faces served as a “decorative” illumination of the room. Candles and dodecahedrons were always in a prominent place, so rich people, to show their wealthy position, sometimes decorated them with silver. For example, in the vicinity of Geneva in Switzerland was found a small cast lead dodecahedron with faces of 15 millimeters, covered with plates of silver with Latin zodiacal signs on the outside. The fact that it was small in size, silver and decorated with signs, says that its owner was a rich man and allowed himself to use thin, quickly burning, expensive candles, or it was a child's toy, for example, as now make toy household items in many times reduced size (tables, chairs, plastic utensils, etc.).

The psychology of people does not change over time and nowadays they try to arrange their everyday life using embellished household items. People did the same thing before.

Dodecahedron, being on the candle, from the flame of the wick became hot.

Therefore, so that it could be taken with bare hands and turned over - on the tops of the dodecahedron (not always, but often) were made balls, which are heated less. It's kind of a useful addition to the light fixture.

The dodecahedron was not very light, but its weight was enough to melt the wax of a thick candle when heated. By changing the diameter of the holes placed on the candle, it was possible to regulate the height of the burning wick and, thus, to influence the illumination of the room.

Monument to the dodecahedron in the town of Tongeren, Belgium. This is approximately how it stood on the candle as well

For example, if you put a dodecahedron on a candle with a small hole, the wick and candle flame will be small. The candle will burn slower and give less light, as the melted wax will pour more into the wick, preventing it from burning.

A smaller diameter hole was placed on the candle, and a larger diameter hole was placed on the opposite face for the flame to exit - this allowed the dodecahedron to not heat up as much. If a face with a larger hole was placed on the candle, the candle would burn faster, as the flame of the wick would be larger and higher. The size of the hole regulated the height of the wick flame (i.e. the light) and the burning time of the candle.

In general, this simple object had many useful properties.

Concentric circles on the faces of the dodecahedron helped the master to evenly make pentagonal plates (with equal length faces), for their subsequent tight connection.

Dodecahedrons were made by different masters, in different years and centuries, in different countries, therefore had insignificant external differences. Each master made some kind of improvement. For example, to embellish the object, sometimes masters depicted small circles with a dot in the center on the edges. A circle with a dot in the center is, for example, an ancient designation of the symbol of the Sun - that is, in a figurative sense: light, brightness, illumination.

A hollow cube could contribute to the uniform melting of a thick candle, but it has fewer working edges, so the cube left a large space darkened. The cube has no holes for light to escape downward, necessary for reading and writing under the candle.

Besides, the more practical (in this case) dodecahedron due to the greater number of faces has more possibilities for regulating the burning process.

The dodecahedron was a distant “relative” and predecessor of the kerosene lamp. The functions of the bronze (stone) dodecahedron in the lamp were transformed - the flame of the wick was closed from rain and wind by a new material - glass, and the brightness of the flame and illumination was regulated manually, by turning the wheel, changing the height of the wick for burning.

Over time, with the development of mankind and the cheapening of candles, the need for dodecahedrons disappeared.

Just as the kerosene lamp is no longer needed today, so too are many other items from ancient, medieval and later human life. Even nowadays we can see the speed with which machines, mechanisms and objects of our everyday life are changing.

Vietnamese gold dodecahedrons are sometimes mentioned along with the Roman ones, but they have a very different look, integral or hollow shape and many differences from the Roman ones.

Gold dodecahedron on a bracelet from Thailand, dating back to the first centuries BC. Photo: regnum.ru

Here, in principle, is the whole secret of the “Roman dodecahedron”.

Although Miguel Cervantes said that often the unraveling of the historical mystery “is not worth a penny”, but the ancient inhabitants of Europe dodecahedron brought a lot of benefit, because to some extent it improved their life, illuminating the premises in the long dark evenings and nights, saving wax and material resources to buy expensive candles.

But who knows, it's just a theory. More interesting finds in our telegram channel