A Boeotian Die in Context
Gaming Pieces, Jewellery, Seals, Spindle Whorls and Bird Bowls in a Female Burial of Status
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22017676 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Victoria Sabetai (Academy of Athens), Euthymia Nikita (Cyprus Institute) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 159-195 |
| Publication date | 2022-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Board Game Studies Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2183-3311 • E-ISSN: 2183-3311 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.2478/bgs-2022-0006 |
| OpenAlex | W4224436830 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 16 |
The present paper presents a die in its archaeological context, which is a rich grave in the region of Boeotia. It attempts to understand with what other items this gaming piece coexisted and why, as well as who was the person who played with it during lifetime. The Boeotian die is a solid cube made of clay that presents a peculiarity in its numbering system, for the face normally bearing six dots features twenty-five instead. The date of the die in the Archaic period and the sex of the deceased can be established from its associated grave-group which comprises 48 Boeotian (mostly bird bowls) and Late Corinthian vases, minor objects, such as spindle whorls, and gaming pieces from raw natural materials (such as pebbles, shells, a terracotta animal in secondary use, etc), as well as jewellery such as rings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, pins, spiraled tubes, seals and rosettes attached on a -now lost- head cover. The age of the dead is estimated as young from osteological analysis, which situates our die and its gaming assemblage in the cultural context of the “ mors immatura ” in Archaic Greece. Dice among other gaming pieces are known from antiquity, yet undisturbed (and sexed) contexts of the Archaic period are rare. In the 6th century BC dice occur in sanctuaries; none is known from Boeotia, hence the significance of publishing one here in its assorted grave-group
Ancient history · Archaeology · Archaic period · Art · Osteology · Terracotta · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History
Figurines en contexte, de l’identification à la fonction
Collection Paul Canellopoulos (VIII). Vases béotiens
Chronique des fouilles et découvertes archéologiques en Grèce en 1939
Terracottas from the Necropolis of Halae
Late Geometric Grave Groups from the Athenian Agora
Production bias in cultural evolution
Achille et Ajax
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,67 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2024 (5) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |