Roman dice tower
Roman dice tower called turricula or pyrgus. The dices thrown in from the top felt down the stairs giving random results. It was also a way for the thrown to be fair. Found in the ruins of a fort on the border of the Roman Empire with Germania, in 1983, in the form of preserved bronze plates. Archaeologists have reconstructed the artifact, which we can admire today. Dated to the 4th century CE and is believed to have been given as a gift.
The item was located in a villa in the province Germania Inferior, near the current town of Vettweiß (North Rhine-Westphalia). The military camp in Cologne was nearby.
The original had four cones on top. In the front were the silhouettes of dolphins, which were connected with small bells, which rang after rolling the dices from the exit.
On the front wall of the tower there are Latin inscriptions:
- PICTOS VICTOS – Picts defeated
- HOSTIS DELETA – Defeated enemy
- LVDITE SECVRI – Play securely
In turn, around the top of the tower from the other three sides you can read:
- VTERE FELIX VIVAS – Play and live happily
