The Oldest Dice Ever Found

The oldest known cubic dice are around 4,500–5,000 years old and come from sites in the Near East and South Asia, including Shahr-i Sokhta in Iran and cities of the Indus civilisation. Before these, people used tabas (knucklebones), animal bones with four sides.

Before dice: knucklebones

Knucklebones, the ankle bones of lambs or goats, were used as dice in a great many cultures. They have four sides they can land on, each with its own value. They are still used in children’s games in some areas.

The first cubes

A board with dice was found at Shahr-i Sokhta, dated to around the third millennium BC. Clay dice found in the Indus Valley have a different numbering system from today’s: opposite faces did not always add up to seven.

Egypt, Greece and Rome

Dice spread throughout the Mediterranean. They were common in Roman Hispania, as we explain in how the Romans enjoyed themselves in Hispania.

Keep reading

You can find out more about their origins in who invented dice and about cheating with them in loaded dice.