Roman Dodecahedron

This is a coin sorter

You're welcome, world

Detailed Explanation:

For centuries, people have been trying to work out the purpose of the mysterious objects dubbed ‘Roman dodecahedrons.’

These hollow metal objects with different sized holes on their various sides, and knobs on each corner, have mystified archeologists and historians throughout the ages.

Many Roman dodecahedrons have been found, usually with hordes of valuables and coins, even though the objects are not made of particularly precious material themselves. Analysts have concluded that the devices must have been valued because of their function, not the metal of which they were made. Surely, though, if the objects were considered valuable for whatever reason, the wealthy would have had examples made from gold or silver, as they did with other artifacts like tableware? The wealthy Roman households were renowned for the presence of ostentatious knick knacks, so why would the dodecahedrons be the one exception? They are not unattractive objects, just rather unique and geometric looking.

Several explanations have been put forward for the function of these devices. It has been suggested that they were used for knitting and there are even YouTube videos of people trying to knit with Roman dodecahedrons. (They’re quite amusing if you get a chance to watch them.)

Others have suggested that the devices had some sort of religious significance, although no one can deduce precisely what. Again, if the dodecahedrons had some sort of religious significance, one would think examples in gold or silver would have been found.

Some people have suggested that they were used as candleholders. Although this is possibly one of the more logical explanations, most candleholders would have knobs that you could grasp without burning your fingers.

Others have suggested that they are some sort of calculating devices or even triangulation devices used in building or warfare. A quick Google search of these articles provides some fascinating reading but none of them have really come up with a convincing explanation as to the function of the Roman dodecahedrons.

So why could we draw the conclusion that these object are coin sorters? Well, let’s have a look at Roman society at the time, and have a look at what the objects were made of, their form, and where they were found.

At the time when most of these objects were found the Roman Empire was expanding into various other lands which then became Roman provinces. The Romans were taking over other cultures and charging them taxation. Of course these people were paying taxation in coins because that’s how things were paid in those days. Bank accounts and bank notes were not something the average farmer used or needed. The job of a tax collector was therefore mostly to collect and count coins.

As anyone who has ever worked in a bank would know, counting coins is very time consuming and is made much easier with the help of sorting devices. These devices would have to be made of hard metal to withstand the constant scraping of coins across their surfaces. This eliminates the softer more precious metals such as silver and gold, which would have worn out very quickly if used in this manner.

The use of the devices as coin sorters would also explain the presence of knobs on every corner on the outside of the dodecahedrons. As each different coin size would be counted through a different hole and different face on the devices then the users would have to shake the devices from many different directions depending on what coins they were sorting and what size they were. Coins are heavy, so to prevent the devices, when heavy and full of coins or even half full, from slipping from the users’ hands, there were knobs on the side no matter which angle the device was picked up from.

Last but not least is the fact that the Roman dodecahedrons were mostly found ‘associated with coin hoards.’ If the devices themselves were not made of precious metals and did not have any religious significance, then this would not make sense unless the function of the devices was somehow associated with the coins themselves.