Found by a Farmer
Ancient Mystery Solved!
April 1st, 2025 (not a joke) The mystery of the ancient Roman Dodecahedron (2 + 10 surface solid) first found in 1739, has been solved by David Dobbins, inventor/farmer.
The Roman dodecahedron (a mysterious 12-sided object) has sparked numerous theories about its purpose, including: religious artifacts, measuring devices, or even knitting tools, but none have been definitively proven.
A convergence of thought led Mr. Dobbins to consider social and military influences of the first-fourth century Roman Empire. Having pondered the mystery of the Roman Dodecahedron for a year or so, several factors leaped from the pages of history and another 12 sided pentagonal paneled object from the same period emerged, a firm leather ball for the Roman game Harpastum which is a Roman ball game, likely originating in ancient Greece as "episkyros" (or "phaininda") and was played in the Roman Empire by the 2nd century BC, becoming popular among legionnaires.
Sources have mentioned candle wax on the studs protruding from the corners. Their thought was "candle holder." Mr. Dobbins thought "waxed string" to hold the skin and ball stuffing together. Another suggested that the ball was a knitting tool because they found wear scars around these studs. Mr. Dobbins recognized that this was consistent with his idea of a ball core (skeletal by design) with waxed-string ligament to hold the skin in place - how obvious!
Mr. Dobbins also points to other unique characteristics of a dodecahedron: one unique property is that you can trace all its edges with a single, continuous line without crossing any vertices. To understand this better take a look at *Intructables Desktop-Sized Infinity Dodecahedron (scroll down to Step 8: Strip Layout Guide) to see how a Dodecahedron can be traced along all edges. This would serve well for bounding a game ball with a waxed string.
There has been a lot of conjecture concerning the holes and their varying sizes. (More explanation forthcoming)
LEGAL NOTICE: We claim Trademark Names for sports gear, associated products, and apparel for the following terms:
ROMAN RUGBY ™
romanrugby.com
romanrugby.org
HARPASTUM BALL ™
harpastumball.com
DODECABALL ™
dodecaball.com
DODECAHEDRON BALL CORE ™
dodecahedronballcore.com
If you would like to purchase the first in a series of ROMAN RUGBY tough-player shirts please contact us.
Noteworthy Mechanical Utility Patents by Dobbins:
Radial Ball Lock-up Device US Patent 5,518,335
Self-Regulating Linear Inertial Guidance Breech-Lock Release and Cycling Mechanism fo Repeating Firearms US Patent 5,682,007
The Roman dodecahedron (a mysterious 12-sided object) has sparked numerous theories about its purpose, including: religious artifacts, measuring devices, or even knitting tools, but none have been definitively proven.
A convergence of thought led Mr. Dobbins to consider social and military influences of the first-fourth century Roman Empire. Having pondered the mystery of the Roman Dodecahedron for a year or so, several factors leaped from the pages of history and another 12 sided pentagonal paneled object from the same period emerged, a firm leather ball for the Roman game Harpastum which is a Roman ball game, likely originating in ancient Greece as "episkyros" (or "phaininda") and was played in the Roman Empire by the 2nd century BC, becoming popular among legionnaires.
Sources have mentioned candle wax on the studs protruding from the corners. Their thought was "candle holder." Mr. Dobbins thought "waxed string" to hold the skin and ball stuffing together. Another suggested that the ball was a knitting tool because they found wear scars around these studs. Mr. Dobbins recognized that this was consistent with his idea of a ball core (skeletal by design) with waxed-string ligament to hold the skin in place - how obvious!
Mr. Dobbins also points to other unique characteristics of a dodecahedron: one unique property is that you can trace all its edges with a single, continuous line without crossing any vertices. To understand this better take a look at *Intructables Desktop-Sized Infinity Dodecahedron (scroll down to Step 8: Strip Layout Guide) to see how a Dodecahedron can be traced along all edges. This would serve well for bounding a game ball with a waxed string.
There has been a lot of conjecture concerning the holes and their varying sizes. (More explanation forthcoming)
LEGAL NOTICE: We claim Trademark Names for sports gear, associated products, and apparel for the following terms:
ROMAN RUGBY ™
romanrugby.com
romanrugby.org
HARPASTUM BALL ™
harpastumball.com
DODECABALL ™
dodecaball.com
DODECAHEDRON BALL CORE ™
dodecahedronballcore.com
If you would like to purchase the first in a series of ROMAN RUGBY tough-player shirts please contact us.
Noteworthy Mechanical Utility Patents by Dobbins:
Radial Ball Lock-up Device US Patent 5,518,335
Self-Regulating Linear Inertial Guidance Breech-Lock Release and Cycling Mechanism fo Repeating Firearms US Patent 5,682,007
Images, links, and references in this article are published under the guidlines of Wikimedia Commons and credits Wikipedia
Page URL, File URL, User:Itub, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
*Instructables and AutoDesk (trademarks of AutoDesk Inc.) references used With Consent, as Cypress Bottom nor Mr. Dobbins have any relationship, sponsorship, or connection to our content, services, or products.
Page URL, File URL, User:Itub, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
*Instructables and AutoDesk (trademarks of AutoDesk Inc.) references used With Consent, as Cypress Bottom nor Mr. Dobbins have any relationship, sponsorship, or connection to our content, services, or products.
