Mysterious Ancient Board Game Discovered in 2,300-Year-Old Tomb in China
A group of archaeologists in China have unearthed pieces from a mysterious ancient board game that was last played around 1,500 years ago.
A 14-face die made of animal tooth, 21 rectangular game pieces with numbers painted on them, and a broken tile from a board game were found in a 2,300-year-old tomb in Qingzhou City, according to Live Science.
Other recent archaeological discoveries include a cave full of game pieces that has been dubbed North America’s first casino, and an ancient tablet that has been compared to an iPad.
When reconstructed, the tile turned out to be “decorated with two eyes, which are surrounded by cloud-and-thunder patterns,” a report published in the journal Chinese Cultural Relics claimed. The die comprises the numbers 1 through 6, each appearing twice on 12 of the faces in a form of ancient Chinese writing known as “seal script.” Two of the faces were left blank.