What was a Roman Dodecahedron used for?

Let us know how you get on with the replica. Would be cool to see if you decide to make it.

I was thinking about the weight, the larger ones would have been quite heavy. I’ve used bronze, it is really heavy. It’s all relit an old interest, I’m thinking of making one out of steel and then polishing it. Ball bearings brazed on would be ideal for the knobles.

Times like this I wish I was Indian Jones. 

Wikipedia has a section on Platonic solids

The Platonic solids are prominent in the philosophy of Plato, their namesake. Plato wrote about them in the dialogue Timaeus c. 360 B.C. in which he associated each of the four classical elements (earth, air, water, and fire) with a regular solid. Earth was associated with the cube, air with the octahedron, water with the icosahedron, and fire with the tetrahedron. Of the fifth Platonic solid, the dodecahedron, Plato obscurely remarked, "...the god used [it] for arranging the constellations on the whole heaven". Aristotle added a fifth element, aither (aether in Latin, "ether" in English) and postulated that the heavens were made of this …  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonic_solid

It might provide additional inspiration in the right direction or it might send you down a rabbit hole.

Yes, the Germans did pillage Rome. It would be great if one was found in Pompeii, it would still be in situ. Unfortunately it was destroyed in 79AD, a bit too early.
I thought about different size candles to measure time, some were found with wax remains, objects do tend to get repurposed over time though. A lot of finds around  Londinium  but nothing near Aqvae Svlis ( Bath).

I was sitting there thinking about it last night, I went down a similar rabbit hole of the number 12 being of significance. 12 months, 12 is a religious number for some, 12 major roman gods; Jupiter, Saturn etc. I also figured its light weight means it’s easily carried and fits in the palm of a hand. 

Could the lack of finds in Italy be explained by most of the dodecahedra being of the 2nd to 4th century? The fragmentation of Roman society and cultural shifts in remaining populations may have lead to civil wars, but it is likely there was some cooperation between the Romans and members of preexisting populations in the mid/north western parts of Europe, and perhaps the dodecahedra evolved in this context? 

I think the object would be handy to gauge something for payment. The holes could be temporarily blocked, perhaps leaving the appropriately sized hole open. 

I am hoping that one day, someone will discover a fresco illustrating the the illusive context, or someone might have referred to the dodecahedron when writing instructions on a tablet. 

If for school then why none in Italy? It has to be something you would need when travelling long distances.
Looking at the map, some of the finds are practically in straight lines, obviously the Romans were known to travel in straight lines.
I would think quite high status as they aren’t found in great quantities. If for everyday use, it would be easier and cheaper to carve out of wood.  Rome was founded on The twelve tables of law, also there were twelve main gods and goddesses. ( twelve sides) The calendar didn’t become twelve months until much later. Another possibility is that it was to gauge the size of something for payment.

That map illustrates your theory well. 

You have made me wonder if the object was used in school geometry classes.

I wondered about it possibly being a seal stamp too. I don’t know if many clay objects with seal stamps of any description have been found, and if those found bear any resemblance to the holes and patterns of the dodecahedron. I’m not convinced that an object like a dodecahedron would be useful as it seems to have too many different sized holes with similar patterns on the one object.

So if they haven’t been found in Italy, from the map, it looks like an army on the move, no paintings or drawings exist showing it as being used for sport or leisure. The small hole lining up with a larger one could be used for measuring distance. I’ve stolen this map from the internet.

And me! I keep staring at it, and at other images of dodecahedrons online.

Replicas are available, so I am considering buying one. I think there is nothing like holding an object in your hand, feeling the weight and seeing it face to face when seeking to discern a potential purpose. (I just want to see if your appealing theory of a fidget toy is truly compelling!)

Look at a map of the Roman Empire and take pretty much any of the peoples outside of Romes borders. There's a lot of places that have never been properly explored, a lot of feoderati were from areas just outside the borders. A surprising amount of German and pre-Viking Scandinavians volunteered as feoderati, the link between pre-Viking Scandinavia and Rome is still relatively unknown, but we do know they were there, there was a lso a lot of trading going on between the people near the borders and the Romans within.

Maybe it's for holding seals, formal stamps for approving or authorizing things. The knobbles would mean when you put it down on a flat surface you never damage them.

It bothers me that I don’t know what it is and no one else does either! Quite the mystery 

Why have different size holes?

The weight is not even so it would be biased.

There are at least 3 different size holes.

it could have been a device of chance - like a die (singular of dice) where there were 12 options to choose from - let fate decide the outcome sort of thing.

The faces could have disks representing the choices stuck in place (spring clips perhaps) so they could be customisable.

For something this size I guess it would be intended for a public use thing where many people could see the outcome.

I can imagine it driving the dogs wild, especially if a few were at the one dodecahedron. 

A measuring device is my number one guess too, yet it isn’t a fully satisfactory answer.

I was thinking it might be a handy thing to attach by a string to your waist to use for counting out nails. Though the knobs would seem to suggest a different purpose.

I think you could be on to something with 

TheCatWoman said:

some of the peope they has as auxillaries

Moreover it is interesting that these objects have not yet been found in Italy, but if not the Romans, then who were the people in other European countries who used them?