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Wikipedia: “Smaller dodecahedra with the same features (holes and knobs) and made from gold have been found in South-East Asia along the Maritime Silk Road. Th

Wikipedia: “Smaller dodecahedra with the same features (holes and knobs) and made from gold have been found in South-East Asia along the Maritime Silk Road. They have been used for decorative purposes and the earliest items appear to be from the Roman epoch.”

rapjr9 5y ago
Interesting idea. I did a search for Latin words that have no known meaning and found this: https://latin.stackexchange.com/questions/4683/what-is-the-most-common-classical-latin-word-that-we-dont-understand https://latin.stackexchange.com/questions/4683/what-is-the-m... which suggests a corslet being stiffened with "pale mountain bronze". Perhaps the "pale mountain bronze" is in the form of a dodecahedron? Then did a search for ancient images of women wearing toga's and found this: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/61/29/74/612974bb3612d3ccf9c98a95f9a58a9c.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/61/29/74/612974bb3612d3ccf9c9... Look at her shoulders. Maybe these dodecahedra were ornamental fasteners for clothing, with the different hole sizes allowing them to be used with different weights of fabric. So perhaps they were a fad fashion adornment for rich women (due to the cost of the precision manufacture). I could see the smaller ones being used as a weight attached to clothing to control the drape and accentuate the figure as well. Pull some cloth through it, tie a knot and it pulls on the cloth in a certain way. A hair ornament would make sense also, with the different sized holes allowing for pulling differing amounts of hair through the holes and knotting the hair to hold the ornament in place.
marginalia_nu 5y ago
Is it really surprising to find roman-style artifacts along a major roman trading route?
- dr_dshiv 5y ago
  SE Asia was not exactly a known "major" Roman trading route. Do you know otherwise?
  - marginalia_nu 5y ago
    Rome had ports in the Red Sea, and during Trajan briefly also in the Gulf of Persia. I would think it was stranger if they didn't have exchange along that route. Perhaps not as prolific as the trade along the landed silk road, but there's a smattering of roman coins and artifacts all over SEA.
    - dr_dshiv 5y ago
      But this is in Indonesia, etc... They made contact with China during Marcus Aurelius but then plague came back and the trade collapsed. I don't think roman trade went so far

rapjr9 5y ago

Interesting idea. I did a search for Latin words that have no known meaning and found this: https://latin.stackexchange.com/questions/4683/what-is-the-most-common-classical-latin-word-that-we-dont-understand https://latin.stackexchange.com/questions/4683/what-is-the-m... which suggests a corslet being stiffened with "pale mountain bronze". Perhaps the "pale mountain bronze" is in the form of a dodecahedron? Then did a search for ancient images of women wearing toga's and found this: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/61/29/74/612974bb3612d3ccf9c98a95f9a58a9c.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/61/29/74/612974bb3612d3ccf9c9... Look at her shoulders. Maybe these dodecahedra were ornamental fasteners for clothing, with the different hole sizes allowing them to be used with different weights of fabric. So perhaps they were a fad fashion adornment for rich women (due to the cost of the precision manufacture). I could see the smaller ones being used as a weight attached to clothing to control the drape and accentuate the figure as well. Pull some cloth through it, tie a knot and it pulls on the cloth in a certain way. A hair ornament would make sense also, with the different sized holes allowing for pulling differing amounts of hair through the holes and knotting the hair to hold the ornament in place.

marginalia_nu 5y ago

Is it really surprising to find roman-style artifacts along a major roman trading route?

dr_dshiv 5y ago
SE Asia was not exactly a known "major" Roman trading route. Do you know otherwise?
- marginalia_nu 5y ago
  Rome had ports in the Red Sea, and during Trajan briefly also in the Gulf of Persia. I would think it was stranger if they didn't have exchange along that route. Perhaps not as prolific as the trade along the landed silk road, but there's a smattering of roman coins and artifacts all over SEA.
  - dr_dshiv 5y ago
    But this is in Indonesia, etc... They made contact with China during Marcus Aurelius but then plague came back and the trade collapsed. I don't think roman trade went so far