More on the Maresha astragali

LUDIC AND MANTIC ARCHAEOLOGY UPDATE: The Maresha astragali are getting plenty of media attention. These three articles have background information, additional details about the discovery, and more photographs.

Huge Number of Knucklebones for Prophecy and Games Discovered in Biblical Maresha. Dating to the Hellenistic period in central Israel, some of the small herbivore bones invoked specific gods, some were dice, while another says ‘thief’ (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz)

In the context of the perennial unease and hostilities in the Middle East, “all the materials from the domestic areas above-ground were tossed into the underground areas. They became a time capsule,” Perry-Gal explains. So we cannot say whether the astragali of Maresha were used in the glare of sunshine or dank inner sanctums, only a small proportion of which have been excavated.

Note that last detail. It sounds like there is ample scope for more discoveries in the Maresha caves.

Hera help us! Rare knucklebone dice with names of gods show gaming in ancient Israel. 530 so-called ‘astragali,’ dating to Hellenistic period 2,300 years ago, found in southern Israel; inscribed in Greek with names of deities Aphrodite, Eros, Hermes, Hera, and Nike (Times of Israel)

How did Hellenists gamble, divine or play with these rare ancient bones found in Israel? Records show that one of the games played with bone dice was "five stones" in which children threw five bones in the air and tried to catch them (Ariella Marsden, Jerusalem Post)

Background here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.