Let the Dice Roll! 1,700 Year Old Board Game Found in Early Iron-Age Norwegian Burial Mound

Sensasjonelt funn i Alver. – Dette er statusgjenstander som vitner om kontakt med Romerriket, sier arkeolog.

Board games of this kind indicate broad contacts with the Roman Empire, researchers say.

Game chips and dice have been found in an early Iron Age tomb in northern Hordland in Norway.

The discovery dates from the early Iron Age (circa 300 AD) in a burial mound at Ytre Fosse near Alversund in the municipality of Alver in connection with plot development. A total of 13 whole and five broken game chips were unearthed, complete with a die.

The place is close to the narrow strait Alverstraumen, which was a central point on the maritime way between the north and south, the so-called “Nordvegen”, or “North Way”, which gave Norway its name.

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