A team of archaeologists and computer scientists has identified a small limestone slab from the Roman Netherlands as a likely board for a strategic game. The research provides evidence that “blocking games,” a genre previously associated with medieval Europe, were actually played centuries earlier during the Roman era. These findings regarding the ancient recreational landscape were published in the journal Antiquity.
The artifact at the center of this study was discovered in Heerlen, a Dutch city known in antiquity as Coriovallum. This settlement was a prosperous Roman town located in the province of Germania Inferior. It was established during the reign of Emperor Augustus and remained inhabited until the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Coriovallum served as a regional hub for pottery production and benefited economically from its position on major road networks.
The residents of this town occupied a bustling urban environment characterized by monumental architecture and public bathhouses. They lived in a stratified society where leisure activities played a role in daily existence. However, historians often face a significant gap in the record regarding these pastimes.
Many ancient games were played on ephemeral surfaces such as the ground. Players likely drew boards in the dirt and used pebbles or seeds as counters. These materials rarely survive the passage of time. Rules were seldom written down, leaving a silence in the historical record regarding how ordinary people passed their time. This study aimed to determine if a unique, enigmatic stone object could help fill that void in the understanding of Roman daily life.
Walter Crist of the Centre for Digital Humanities at Leiden University led the investigation. He collaborated with a multidisciplinary team including Éric Piette, Karen Jeneson, Dennis J.N.J. Soemers, Matthew Stephenson, Luk van Goor, and Cameron Browne. The researchers represent institutions in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia. They focused their analysis on a single piece of Norroy limestone held in the collection of Het Romeins Museum.
The object, cataloged as number 04433, measures approximately 212 by 145 millimeters. The team employed a method that combined microscopic physical analysis with digital reconstruction. They began by creating a detailed depth map of the stone using photogrammetry and photometric stereo techniques. This allowed them to inspect the surface topography at a microscopic level.
Following the physical examination, the researchers utilized the Ludii general game system. This software platform allowed them to run artificial intelligence simulations. The team tested 130 different game configurations based on known historical rulesets. They employed Alpha-Beta pruning algorithms to simulate 1,000 rounds of play for each configuration. The objective was to observe if the movements of AI agents would create virtual wear patterns matching the physical damage on the stone.
The physical examination of the limestone revealed a distinct smooth zone along one of the incised diagonal lines. This abrasion appeared consistent with the sliding of hard objects. It closely resembled the wear one might expect from glass or stone gaming counters, which are frequently found at Roman sites. The pattern did not match the even wear produced by grinding food or pigments.
The AI simulations provided a correlation between this specific physical wear and the mechanics of “blocking games.” In these games, one player typically attempts to immobilize the other’s pieces rather than capturing them. The simulations favored a scenario where one player starts with four pieces and attempts to block an opponent who holds two pieces. This asymmetrical gameplay resulted in the uneven wear observed on the artifact.
These results suggest that the people of Coriovallum engaged in strategic play similar to the later Viking game Haretavl. The stone itself appears to be a repurposed piece of architectural debris. It was likely scavenged from a larger monument during the late Roman period, around AD 250 to 476. This indicates that gaming was an accessible pastime for people who utilized available materials to create entertainment.
The evidence points to a society where leisure was integrated into daily life, even as the town transformed into a fortified settlement. The use of imported Norroy limestone for a small game board implies a resourcefulness among the local population. They took a material usually reserved for grand columns or inscriptions and adapted it for personal use. This study provides evidence that this specific genre of game has a much deeper history in Northern Europe than previously recognized.
But the study faces challenges inherent to analyzing singular artifacts with vague provenance. The stone was found in the early 20th century, and its exact archaeological context within Heerlen is not fully documented. The researchers cannot definitively rule out every other possible function for the stone, such as an obscure manufacturing tool.
Another limitation lies in the nature of the simulations. AI agents play optimally to win, whereas human players often make irrational moves for fun or due to distraction. This difference in behavior could affect how wear patterns develop over time. Future research could apply this combined methodology to other unidentified patterned stones in museum collections.
Archaeologists hope to discover if this game was a local anomaly or part of a wider regional tradition that has gone unnoticed. The methods used here could help decode other silent artifacts. A broader application of this technology might reveal a more connected history of play across the Roman provinces.
The paper, “Ludus Coriovalli: using artificial intelligence-driven simulations to identify rules for an ancient board game,” was authored by Walter Crist, Éric Piette, Karen Jeneson, Dennis J.N.J. Soemers, Matthew Stephenson, Luk van Goor, and Cameron Browne.