Game board tile
From Silchester - Roman
Game board from Silchester
Evidence of gaming found at the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum, near Silchester in Hampshire, comes in the form of playing grids along with dice and disc-shaped counters. The bone counters were probably made on site because cattle scapula bones (shoulder blades) with circular holes cut out of them have been found during the excavations, and this square floor tile, inscribed for use as a games board, is divided into forty-nine small squares by six horizontal and six vertical lines. These materials can tell us about some of the games that were played, but we have no way of knowing about any that leave no trace such as ‘paper, rock, scissors’ and ‘tag’.
The town site was excavated by Rev J. G. Joyce, who worked on the site from 1864 to 1878, and continued by the Society of Antiquaries, who uncovered the town between 1890 and 1909.
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