The Common Man’s Game. Interpreting Archaeological Finds of Dice and Gaming Pieces from Sigtuna, Sweden

Abstrakt

This article reviews all known finds of dice and gaming pieces from the settlement layers (occupation deposits) of Sigtuna, Sweden (AD c. 980 – c. 1300). The oldest dice, two items, are of rectangular Iron Age type, while all later dice are cubic. The majority are made from bone, antler, and walrus ivory. Nearly half exhibit a dice pip arrangement of 6+5 / 4+3 / 2+1. The ‘modern’ arrangement, where opposite faces always add up to 7, is less frequent. Both arrangement patterns co-existed from the 12th century. Onion-shaped gaming pieces from the 11th century layers testify to board games, as does the single find of a hnefatafl board. Finds of chess pieces indicate that chess was introduced in the 12th century. Over half of the gaming pieces are of antler. Other materials used are walrus ivory, bone (including whalebone), and glass. Simple gaming pieces made from wood and the points of elk-antler tines are evidence of gaming by ordinary people. The view, taken by some Scandinavian scholars, that Viking Age and early medieval gaming mainly was a pastime among people in society’s elite is thus challenged and refuted.