Roman culture not only bequeathed us impressive architecture and part of contemporary culture. They also had fun and had board games. The military game of the Romans, an ancient strategy game, appeared at a site.
Who found it? It was a group of archaeologists, who were excavating for several pieces of a Roman strategy game in the city of Edirne, ancient Adrianople. It is located in the northwest of Turkey, according to ‘LBV’ magazine. The discovery reinforces the hypothesis that the town housed a military detachment.

Strategy
The excavations had already found numerous objects of historical and archaeological relevance. Among the most notable finds of 2024 are pieces used in the games Ludus Latrunculorum. This literally means thieves’ game. And it’s probably based on an earlier Greek game called petteia, mentioned in the poem Odyssey. The game also appeared Ludus duodecim scriptorum (game of twelve brands), the magazine points out.
The two pieces found during the excavations are bone discs. These are tokens that were used in the aforementioned games. These finds, decorated with four- and eight-armed symbols engraved with scratching techniques, helped players plan their strategies. The military game of the Romans is an antecedent of current strategy games.

military garrison
The discovery of these game pieces reinforces the hypothesis that Adrianople housed a military detachment for centuries. Previous research has identified the presence of a military barracks from the 2nd century AD Now, recent discoveries suggest that this garrison, possibly made up of cavalry troops, remained active for 200 or 300 years.
The excavations in Adrianople are carried out under the direction of Karabuk University academician Dr. Ersin Celikbas. This is part of the Gelecege Miras (Legacy for the Future) project promoted by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.