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PiPoe posted an update 5 years, 4 months ago
One more on the dodecahedron – Roman Dodecahedrons – whose purpose it seems is still a mystery – fascinating object: speculation anyone?
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/12/06/roman-dodecahedrons-mysterious-objects-that-have-been-found-across-the-territory-of-the-roman-empire/
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I read a comment by an individual that works with metal. He stated that these items would be very expensive to produce and from that perspective thought it unlikely that it would have been designed to produce garments. Other commenters stated that due to the value of garments in those days the cost to produce this tool for this purpose could be justified.
As these items seem to be unearthed mostly around military installations, it would be logical to think there is some military use of them.
There is one speculation that these items were used for surveying purposes. Perhaps to gauge target distances but this only takes into consideration the optical aspects of the items – not the knobs.
Are the knobs just ‘handles’ to aid the user in a firm grip? As they are specifically placed on each vertices, that would seem too simple of a purpose for them.
There has been a discovery that the dodecahedron also follows a spiral configuration via vertices connections. If this item was used for ‘surveying’ purposes, perhaps the knobs were for cosmic reference and the holes were for distance measurement.
However, I question this use as the Romans weren’t the most sophisticated civilization and I find it unlikely that they needed this type of instrument to guide their weaponry. Perhaps they did use it more as a terrestrial range finder – the design could have been copied from earlier times and they did not comprehend its full functionality.
Yes, I know – I’m bouncing at the end of the ‘twig’ 😉