Item of the month
Each month, the Musée du Malgré-Tout showcases an artifact from the reserves of its many collections. Discover below the object of the month for April and May 2026:
The bone dice from Late Roman Tomb 3 at Tienne del Baticulle in Nismes (Viroinval)
These three cubic bone dice were unearthed in 2014 in Tomb 3 at the Tienne del Baticulle site in Nismes, in the province of Namur, during excavations carried out by CEDARC/Musée du Malgré-Tout, under the direction of Laureline and Pierre Cattelain. This grave contained the remains of a man aged between 30 and 40.
The dice, known as ‘alea’ in Latin, is a game that has been played since ancient times. Indeed, it was already widely used in games of chance during the Roman period. For some philosophers, notably Plato, dice and board games were part of the process of learning good citizenship and should be encouraged from childhood.
Whilst the dice shown here were carved from bone, ancient dice could also be made from ivory or bronze. They could be cubic in shape, but also polyhedral, with up to 20 sides.
To be discovered until the end of the month!
