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HomeExploreGamesAncient Board Games Found by Archaeologists
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A row of holes, a coiled snake, and a board inlaid with shell all preserve clues to how people played. These museum photographs show surviving game boards and pieces, along with what archaeologists can tell from the objects and where the rules remain a matter of debate.

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Images17

1
Royal Game of Ur, British Museum
Royal Game of Ur, British Museum: Inlaid shell and colored stones form twenty squares on this board from the Royal Cemetery…
2
Hounds and Jackals Set, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Hounds and Jackals Set, Metropolitan Museum of Art: This board from an early second-millennium BCE tomb at Thebes has 58…
3
Alabaster Mehen Board, Louvre
Alabaster Mehen Board, Louvre: A serpent coils across this alabaster board from early Egypt. The Louvre identifies it as a…
4
Ballinderry Gaming Board, National Museum of Ireland
Ballinderry Gaming Board, National Museum of Ireland: Forty-nine peg holes cover a yew board found at Ballinderry crannog…
5
Mawangdui Bo Game Set, Hunan Museum
Mawangdui Bo Game Set, Hunan Museum: The open lacquered box from Tomb 3 at Mawangdui, China, holds compartments for gaming…
6
Shahr-i Sokhta Game Board, National Museum of Iran
Shahr-i Sokhta Game Board, National Museum of Iran: A snake carved in wood curls around the playing spaces of this board…
7
Senet and Twenty Squares Game Box, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Senet and Twenty Squares Game Box, Metropolitan Museum of Art: The twenty-square side faces up on this ivory game box from…
8
Patolli Board from Xpujil, Mexico
Patolli Board from Xpujil, Mexico: Incised lines on a stucco surface near Xpujil in Campeche mark a board for the…
9
Tutankhamun’s Senet Game Box, Egyptian Museum Collection
Tutankhamun’s Senet Game Box, Egyptian Museum Collection: The thirty-square grid on this board from Tutankhamun’s tomb is…
10
Roman Gaming Board and Counters, Vindolanda Museum
Roman Gaming Board and Counters, Vindolanda Museum: An incised stone grid sits with bone counters, dice, and a shaker from…
11
Birka Gaming Pieces, Swedish History Museum
Birka Gaming Pieces, Swedish History Museum: Whalebone counters and walrus-ivory dice were found in chamber grave Bj 581 at…
12
Mosaic Patolli Board from Naachtun, Guatemala
Mosaic Patolli Board from Naachtun, Guatemala: The surviving pattern in this fifth-century board was made by pressing…
13
Five Lines Game Board Model, National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Five Lines Game Board Model, National Archaeological Museum, Athens: Four terracotta mourners stand at the corners of a…
14
Turtle-Shaped Mehen Model, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Turtle-Shaped Mehen Model, Metropolitan Museum of Art: Concentric rings run across the shell of this small stone turtle…
15
Fifty-Eight Holes Board Fragment, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Fifty-Eight Holes Board Fragment, Metropolitan Museum of Art: Several holes remain on this small ivory fragment, dated to…
16
Abydos Mehen Board, Neues Museum, Berlin
Abydos Mehen Board, Neues Museum, Berlin: A coiled snake provides the track on this early Egyptian mehen board from Abydos…
17
Roman Game Board from Heerlen, The Roman Museum
Roman Game Board from Heerlen, The Roman Museum: An incised pattern crosses a limestone slab found in Heerlen, the Roman…

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