Check it out - they found an ancient Roman 20 sided die. There's only one purpose for dice with that many sides... Dungeons and Dragons.

http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LOTDETAIL.ASP?intObjectID=4205385

Related and funny:
http://pvponline.com/archive.php3?archive=20031201

edit: fixed URL

bah, the ROmans wernt big on wasteing alot of time pretending to be someone, as opposed to being someone- more then likelly its for just another dice gambiling game played by the soldires

Did they play Dungeons and Dragons, or Papers and Paychecks? (those of you with the First Edition Advanced D&D Dungeon Master's Guide should know what I'm talking about. . . )

I guess that explains why goblinkind became extinct in Europe in 272 A.D.

Moved to History...

Originally posted by XIII
Moved to History...

Ahh, you could have moved it to Jokes and Humor too. I just thought it was funny to see. OF COURSE they didn't play D&D with it, but now that it's in this nice serious history thread...

Could it have been used for a lottery? I can't see soldiers carrying it around - it's 2 inches wide and made of glass. Those things are hard to read on anything but a flat surface. Don't think soldiers in the field rolled it in the dirt.

Originally posted by Pirate

Could it have been used for a lottery? I can't see soldiers carrying it around - it's 2 inches wide and made of glass. Those things are hard to read on anything but a flat surface. Don't think soldiers in the field rolled it in the dirt.

They used the dice for stoning Christians.

That makes sense. I remember reading a passage from the meditations of Marcus Aurelius where he refers to some Marcomanni stealing Caligula's sceptor of Unspeakable Defilement. It was worth 16,000 exp. Apparently the Chief destroyed the sceptor and gained two levels. This plus the subsequent hit point increase inspired some tribes to attack across the Danube.