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submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] ringwraithfish@startrek.website 142 points 4 months ago

What a wonderful rabbit hole to go down. My takeaways are it could possibly be used for knitting, but traditional spool knitting that the Grandma uses in the video doesn't show up in history until the 1500s. If the Romans did use it for gloves then knitting has been around much longer than we have evidence of or they were using a different method with the dodecahedron.

[-] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world 88 points 4 months ago

I think I also read these were usually found with treasures and with minimal or no wear, so there isn’t any evidence they were used for anything.

[-] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 94 points 4 months ago

The best suggested explanation IMO is that it’s a way for blacksmiths to demonstrate their skill.

“lol stupid scientists don’t know what knitting is” I would file under “actively anti-intellectual”.

[-] WeirdAlex03@lemmy.zip 19 points 4 months ago

So it's the ancient Roman blacksmith's version of Benchy. Got it

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 19 points 4 months ago

Kinda like the little nib on top of old saw blades. It doesn't really do anything, but if they can make that complex little nib, then they can probably make pretty decent sawblades too.

[-] Poppenlockenheimmer@lemm.ee 8 points 4 months ago

I've always heard that the nib was meant to help you gauge when to stop your pull stroke and start your push stroke so that you use the whole saw and don't wear the teeth unevenly. Is this not the case?

[-] ThunderclapSasquatch@startrek.website 9 points 4 months ago

Nib only exists to prove your saw maker was a competent professional

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[-] someguy3@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 months ago

Iirc it was only found in northern areas. Can't see demonstrations of skill being only there.

[-] EvacuateSoul@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

Maybe the ones elsewhere were too busy being productive.

[-] FaceDeer@fedia.io 106 points 4 months ago

Except that's probably not what they're for, I saw a video recently (I think it was this one) that went into detail about the reasons why it doesn't make much sense for these to be a knitting tool.

[-] Rooskie91@discuss.online 60 points 4 months ago

There's a lesson here about the differences between history and a good historical narrative, but that's the lesson of most history and no one ever listens to it.

[-] daltotron@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

There’s a lesson here about the differences between history and a good historical narrative, but that’s the lesson of most history and no one ever listens to it.

There’s a lesson here about the differences between history and a good historical narrative, but that’s the lesson of most history and no one ever listens to it.

[-] androogee@midwest.social 7 points 4 months ago

I don't think there's a lesson here.

[-] gregorum@lemm.ee 48 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

First and foremost: knitting wasn’t invented until centuries later and didn’t appear in Europe until about the 14th century.

[-] Entropywins@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

I hope this is the next episode of hardcore history. I could use 30 hours of Dan Carlin context on knitting...

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[-] Lightfire228@pawb.social 6 points 4 months ago

Decoding the Unknown (also by Simon Whistler) did a video on these as well

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[-] Num10ck@lemmy.world 69 points 4 months ago

maybe its for measuring how much pasta you need to boil

[-] ma11en@lemmy.world 18 points 4 months ago

There's no horse on it, silly!

[-] dm_me_your_boobs@lemm.ee 4 points 4 months ago

I understood that reference

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[-] halvar@lemm.ee 14 points 4 months ago

how much pasta you need to knit a toga or some shit

[-] lauha@lemmy.one 5 points 4 months ago

Maybe it is a knitting-pastaing-horsing multitool

[-] zarkanian@sh.itjust.works 69 points 4 months ago

That's a d12. Clearly, the Romans were using it to play D&D.

[-] MeatPilot@lemmy.world 38 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I cast fear on Julius Caesar!

Uh oh, Julius Ceasar's only path is through most of the members of Senate. Each member gets one attack of opportunity.

Go ahead and roll 23 dodecahedrons for hits! Brutus also gets advantage for backstab.

[-] brisk@aussie.zone 3 points 4 months ago

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/100008377

[-] CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social 34 points 4 months ago

Last time one of these threads popped up, I saw someone suggest that it might have been a holder for some of those bottles with pointed bottoms the Romans had, don't remember the name. I'm not sure if this is a hypothesis with any level of acceptance, but it feels like it could be plausible just from looking at the thing, having different sized holes would allow different sizes of bottle to fit, and you'd want feet for each possible side that it could be resting on, which would explain the prongs.

[-] BottleOfAlkahest@lemmy.world 28 points 4 months ago

These devices are rather small and most amphora seem to be much larger. The shape of amphora helped with shipping, so they were typucally larger than a device that can fit in your hand.

[-] PoliticalAgitator@lemmy.world 12 points 4 months ago

I'm not sure if this is a hypothesis with any level of acceptance

Unless an actual record is found describing what they were used for, it's all just guesses anyway.

[-] grue@lemmy.world 10 points 4 months ago

those bottles with pointed bottoms the Romans had, don’t remember the name.

Amphora

[-] MonkderDritte@feddit.de 24 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Future archeologist: What do you think they used those things for?

My point is, maybe it was just art, fun, deko?

[-] Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Future archeologists: we believe these were to provide a form of transportation for their miniature gods, as the large humans honored the devices with novel patterns.

Reality:

[-] coaxil@aussie.zone 8 points 4 months ago

Spinny boi

[-] TootSweet@lemmy.world 21 points 4 months ago

My mother got really interested in these things a while ago. I think she mostly buys into the glove-knitting theory. Whatever the case, I 3D printed her a model of one and it's sitting on the mantle over her fireplace.

[-] drolex@sopuli.xyz 43 points 4 months ago

Archaeologists in 2000 years will be puzzled again. "Plastic dodecahedra found near broken mantelpieces, what could it be used for? Anyway I made one out of technetium for my grandma"

[-] nxdefiant@startrek.website 19 points 4 months ago

"It was probably either religious in nature, or used for deciding when to put seeds in the ground"

[-] ringwraithfish@startrek.website 18 points 4 months ago

"Many same-sex friends had these. We believe it was a sign to show they were just roommates"

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[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 8 points 4 months ago

I 3D printed her a model of one and it's sitting on the mantle over her fireplace.

That kinda hints to it not being very useful then...

[-] Zozano@aussie.zone 20 points 4 months ago

It's a girth measurer.

[-] Death_Equity@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

By the looks of it, the Romans were size queens and kings. The frescos and mosaics of Pompeii support that theory.

[-] Klnsfw@lemmynsfw.com 7 points 4 months ago

Grandma knows how to use it.

[-] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 13 points 4 months ago

Grandma's are the best

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 26 points 4 months ago

Grandma is are indeed

[-] Moghul@lemmy.world 16 points 4 months ago

Grandma has are the best, surely.

[-] whereBeWaldo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 4 months ago

You put fossils in them dude

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[-] stringere@leminal.space 9 points 4 months ago

[-] jlow@beehaw.org 7 points 4 months ago

Possible Ritual Use™ 😸

Love these, though I'll never remember the name or how to write it ...

[-] Shareni@programming.dev 3 points 4 months ago

Source: it was revealed to me in a dream

[-] PiJiNWiNg@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

To me it looks like something you'd use to easily make a Monkey Fist for throwing line to/from a pier. Though I guess that doesn't make much sense appearing in mountainous regions, unless they were made in the mountains (proximity to ore?)