For the love of God, we know about the Roman d20!

[tarchon]

Actually I have seen a number of ceramic replicas of many anceint d12s and d20s, d12's seem to be more prevelant in uses, zodiac and all that jazz. From celts all the way down into asia minor lots of the funky polyhedrals.

That's why I lean toward a divinatory use - icosahedra have a pretty strong significance in the Orphic/Pythagorean tradition.

Just to throw this out, when I look at the Christies die pic (http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LOTDETAIL.ASP?intObjectID=4205385), just going by the glyph forms and not accounting for what people say is on the die, I see:

<pre>

Ο or Q
)( Ρ
Η Ζ

Θ Τ

Α
</pre>

 

[LazarusLong42]

Has anyone thought that maybe they're not numbers, but letters?

Which means this die is not from a Roman/Egyptian/whathaveyou RPG... it's from their version of Scattergories.

"OK, how many idiots wrote down Iulius under 'Emperors' for 'I'?"

 

[LightPhoenix]

Quick - what's K + T?

That's why I think they're ordinal.

Random comment - just because we aren't used to it, doesn't mean that they wouldn't have been. I mean, ask someone unfamiliar with computers what 2F + A1 is, and they wouldn't have a clue what you're talking about. Sure, it doesn't take too much thought to realize that F respresents the number 15 if you extend our ten digit system with letters. However, to someone with a strong computer background, especially in programming, that's a simple calculation, and probably they can do it in their head.

Or, K + T is a cute friend of mine.

 

[tarchon]

Random comment - just because we aren't used to it, doesn't mean that they wouldn't have been. I

With Greek, K and T already have numerical values, which aren't equivalent to their positions in the alphabet, so the average Greek would not have been accustomed to equating them to positional values. Thus, for different reasons, positionally adding K and T would be as cumbersome for the ancients as it would be for us.
An additional bit of evidence that positional values would have been alien to the ancient Greeks is that their numerology, isopsephia, uses the standard numerical values of the letters rather than the positional values, so like Nερων (the emperor Nero) = 50+5+100+800+50.

 

[hong]

Quick - what's K + T?

K + T + Pt/Ir = Nobel Prize. You wacky paleontologists!

PS Ben, your personal links on your page are fuXX0red. Please fix!


Hong "but I love the picture of the exotic European" Ooi

 

[diaglo]

i asked my wife i could get this for xmas.

she said how much.

and i said i'd look into it.

do you think she will faint if i show her the sticker price?

 

[Vaxalon]

If they put a sticker on that thing they're fuXXOred.

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

You can buy very similar designed pieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They are clear glass, and intended to be paperweights. They do have the same symbols on them.

Anywhere to buy one of these online?

 

[barsoomcore]

Anywhere to buy one of these online?

Dunno, but have you seen this?

 

[Skade]

Anywhere to buy one of these online?

Looking for ya. My friend actually bought it at the MET store he told me today, which you can find in some malls. I know in Houston there is one in the Galleria, and I think also in First Colony. So I'd check any higher rent malls in your area.