A 12-sided, 1,700-year-old object with no known purpose was found in Lincolnshire last summer and has just gone on display at Lincoln Museum. What could it have been used for? Paul Elliott, by email
Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com.
Readers reply
It’s obviously something on which to hang your toga. Dorkalicious
The more fragile-coloured glass has long since smashed, but this was obviously a disco ball. ILikeChips
It looks like one of those things to measure different size portions of uncooked spaghetti. Did the Romans eat spaghetti? ArtyXerxes
Each of the holes is a different size. If you put the dodecahedron on to a pole that is broad at the bottom and narrow at the top, it will stop at various stages down the pole. These indicate months. The points on each face are made so that you can wrap a piece of string between two or more of the points. There are enough variations of this to indicate the day of the month. It is a calendar. Diana Mills
It would be interesting to know the diameters of the 12 holes and whether there was a relationship there. Otherwise I think it probably was just a nice lamp … tonimoroni1
The sizes of several of these objects are documented and available. For one example, diameters in millimetres are: 13.5, 14, 14, 15, 19, 20, 20, 22, 22, 22, 23, 24. The fact that there are two pairs, and a triplet, seems potentially significant. MyOtherNameIsReal
I saw a theory that it was for knitting glove fingers, from XL adult male to child. The person promoting that take 3D-printed a replica and made a pair of gloves on it. water_moon
Could it have been used by a Roman jewellery maker to measure finger sizes for rings? flightoftheheron
Filled with soil it was used for growing strawberries for Roman orgies. Tom Jones
They are tools used historically by fletchers to taper arrow shafts. Small enough to be carried around by an archer in the field. The knobs make them easier to grasp. AnnieLawrie
It could be a lantern that maybe an officer or a priest may have used. The 12 holes could represent the 12 Olympian gods. A lump of oil or fat soaked cloth would be placed in the bottom hole and lit. The balls on the outside would enable the dodecahedron to be picked up. Mark Thomas
Given the difficulty of assembly and the number of variables involved I would suggest an apprentice piece. I made a variety of pieces myself as an apprentice that would baffle future generations. They had no purpose apart from showing my instructors that I could accomplish the task set. TazTarr
The most persuasive theory on this I’ve seen so far comes from this knitter who believes they were used to knit gold chains. hureharehure
It looks like a puzzle toy made for a toddler. They would need to work out which shapes fit in which hole. Lydfordvegan
Perhaps the object of the game was to put 12 similarly sized balls in the holes with none falling out. The first and largest ball would be easy enough, but each subsequent ball would make it harder to keep them all contained. The game may have been timed to see which player could complete the goal quickest. Michael Johnston
If they are assumed to have a single purpose, then one relating to the zodiac is the most likely, given that an example was found in excavation near to the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre in Geneva in 1982, with the signs of the zodiac engraved on the faces of the dodecahedron. Prehistorian
A divination device. Put a mid-sized ball inside. Throw the dodecahedron. It has a 50/50 chance of falling out. And which one it falls out of makes the prediction. kanimoto
Gaming or divination would leave evidence of marks or damage when it was thrown or rolled. There isn’t any of that sort of damage on more than 100 found so far, yet the metal was relatively soft. The pictured one is made of a bronze-type alloy with a high lead content. That makes it easier to work, more malleable and melting at a lower temperature, but also more vulnerable to damage if it’s dropped or rolled. leadballoon
It serves no practical purpose but looks intriguing. It is therefore something made by and for cats. TravelinJones
