Avenches – Roman Museum – Permanent Exhibition
Avenches – Roman Museum – Permanent Exhibition Avenches – Roman Museum – Permanent Exhibition
Second Floor Games 33-34. Finger-shaped pestle and stone tablet. 35-37. Blue pigment balls from Egypt, amongst other things, used as make-up. 38-39. Glass perfume flasks. 40-41. Glass stirring sticks. 42-51. Bronze sounding rods, used for various purposes. 52-54. Bone toiletries. 55-56. Bronze mirror and stone tablet, found in a grave. Games (Display case 4) In Roman times games were widespread. One can distinguish games of chance, strategy and skill. These three categories were popular with both children and adults. Games of Chance Single or multiple dice offered many occasions to defy chance and pass time. Some dice were manipulated or loaded so that they fell right more often. People have always tried to cheat in order to win. Playing knucklebones was very popular (no. 33). Each side of the small bone from the hind leg of a sheep had a particular shape, which corresponded to a specific value. The bones were placed on the back of the hand and then thrown off: The player obtained the points shown on the visible side facing up. Strategic Games The Romans particularly appreciated strategic games. They sharpened the mind and required reflection, foresight and concentration. Nine Men’s Morris games are regularly found. Just like today it was played by two players with nine counters each. The game of twelve lines combined chance and strategy. Two players threw two or three dice and advanced their 12 or 15 counters across the game board. Discover the reconstructed game in our museum! Games of Skill Many of the games of skill involved items made from organic material, which are rarely found: spinning tops, hoops and wooden pins, ropes and even nuts, all these objects are often known only from depictions. Nuts were omnipresent in children’s games: they built piles, which they had to hit with another nut, they tried to aim for an amphora, or they painted a triangle on the ground and divided it into different sections with different values (delta game). 1. Marble head of a child (Amor). 2. Marble head of a girl. 1 49 Second Floor 3 4
Second Floor Textile Production 3. Limestone head of a girl. 4-6. Bone counters. 7-9. Glass counters. 10-12. Counters made from pottery or glass sherds; coin turned into counter. 13-27. Glass, bone and ceramic counters, coin turned into counter (1). 28-30. Bone and bronze dice. 31. Ceramic beaker. 32. Fragment of stone game board used for playing ”Twelve Lines” (p. 49, 1). 33. Five lamb bones for playing knucklebones. Textile Production (2) (Display case 5) In Roman times, textiles were used to make clothes, tents, blankets, cushions, sails for boats, sacks, etc. Wool and linen were the most widely used materials. Silk was very costly as it was imported from the Orient and it did not appear before the end of the Roman Empire. Hemp was mainly used to make ropes, while cotton from the Orient was a rare commodity. First, the raw material was prepared for spinning. The plant fibres were obtained by soaking, beating and drying processes. Then they were combed like wool; it is possible that carding combs (no. 37), used to disentangle wool, were also used in linen production. Once the fibres were organised in strands they were wrapped around distaffs. For spinning, the strands placed on the distaff were pulled and twisted in order to obtain a thread wound around a spindle, which was weighted with a spindle whorl (nos. 1-9). Weaving was done on a vertical loom where the warp threads were attached at the top, and straightened by loom-weights usually made of earthenware (nos. 10-12). Sometimes, patterns such as squares were woven into the cloth or it was embroidered or painted. Various items of clothing were made from the cloth. The clothes were sewn with iron, bronze or bone needles (nos. 13-36). Thimbles protected the dressmakers’ fingers (no. 38). 1-9. Bone spindles; stone and ceramic spindle whorls, two of which were cut from pottery sherds. 10-12. Terra cotta loom weights used for tightening the warp threads. 13-36. Iron, bronze and bone needles. 37. Iron carding comb. 38. Bronze thimble (3). 1 2 3 50 Second Floor 4 5
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Second Floor Games<br />
33-34. Finger-shaped pestle and stone tablet.<br />
35-37. Blue pigment balls from Egypt, amongst other things, used as make-up.<br />
38-39. Glass perfume flasks.<br />
40-41. Glass stirring sticks.<br />
42-51. Bronze sounding rods, used for various purposes.<br />
52-54. Bone toiletries.<br />
55-56. Bronze mirror and stone tablet, found in a grave.<br />
Games<br />
(Display case 4)<br />
In <strong>Roman</strong> times games were widespread. One can distinguish games of chance,<br />
strategy and skill. These three categories were popular with both children and adults.<br />
Games of Chance<br />
Single or multiple dice offered many occasions to defy chance and pass time. Some<br />
dice were manipulated or loaded so that they fell right more often. People have<br />
always tried to cheat in order to win.<br />
Playing knucklebones was very popular (no. 33). Each side of the small bone<br />
from the hind leg of a sheep had a particular shape, which corresponded to a<br />
specific value. The bones were placed on the back of the hand and then thrown off:<br />
The player obtained the points shown on the visible side facing up.<br />
Strategic Games<br />
The <strong>Roman</strong>s particularly appreciated strategic games. They sharpened the mind<br />
and required reflection, foresight and concentration.<br />
Nine Men’s Morris games are regularly found. Just like today it was played by<br />
two players with nine counters each.<br />
The game of twelve lines combined chance and strategy. Two players threw two<br />
or three dice and advanced their 12 or 15 counters across the game board. Discover<br />
the reconstructed game in our museum!<br />
Games of Skill<br />
Many of the games of skill involved items made from organic material, which are<br />
rarely found: spinning tops, hoops and wooden pins, ropes and even nuts, all these<br />
objects are often known only from depictions.<br />
Nuts were omnipresent in children’s games: they built piles, which they had to<br />
hit with another nut, they tried to aim for an amphora, or they painted a triangle on<br />
the ground and divided it into different sections with different values (delta game).<br />
1. Marble head of a child (Amor).<br />
2. Marble head of a girl.<br />
1<br />
49<br />
Second Floor<br />
3<br />
4
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