Experts said they were ‘no closer’ to finding out what the mysterious Roman object actually was

A mysterious Roman object unearthed in an amateur dig has baffled experts as it goes on display in Britain for the first time.

The 12-sided object was discovered in Norton Disney, near Lincoln, in 2023, and will go on display at Lincoln Museum as part of the city’s Festival of History.

Richard Parker, secretary of the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, said it was a “privilege to have handled” the dodecahedron, but was still at a loss over what it was.

  • @talOPEnglish
    2•2 months ago

    Hmm. Yeah, it seems like it’d come before weaving.

    googles

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_knitting

    Knitting is a technique of producing fabric from a strand of yarn or wool. Unlike weaving, knitting does not require a loom or other large equipment, making it a valuable technique for nomadic and non-agrarian peoples.

    It does say that the oldest known stuff was from 11th century Egypt, but I assume that that’s because it’s a cloth artifact, not metal, ceramic, or stone, so less survives.

    The oldest knitted artifacts are socks from Egypt, dating from the 11th century.[2] They are a very fine gauge, done with complex colourwork and some have a short row heel, which necessitates the purl stitch. These complexities suggest that knitting is even older than the archeological record can prove.[3]