Mária T. Biró: The Bone Objects of the Roman Collection. (Catalogi Musei Nationalis Hungarici. Seria Archeologica 2; Budapest, 1994)

IX. ENTERTAINMENT, PLAY - 2. Games (dice, board games)

were also used churches in religious ceremonies e. g. in libatio. Ancient authors especially emphasize the importance of flute play in the cult of Cybele. According to the evidence of historical works and tombs, the winds were indispensable in commanding the army; in representations it is tibia adunco cornu that we meet most frequently. Besides horns military commands were given with pipe. In fact, in camp excavations bone pipes have come to light in great numbers. All the pipes to be found in our Catalogue are coming from the territory of the camp at Szőny. (Nos. 629-635.) Our flute fragments can be reconstructed after W. Gaitzsch's intact flute finds

116 (Fig. 35.), however as to their Latin name I cannot give an unambiguous answer. (Nos. 623-628.) Unlike pipes, they were all made of precious material, of ivory and they were lathe turned. Ivory was combined with bronze mounts. 2. Games (dice, board games) Dice (ALEA, TALI, TESSERAE) Fig. 36. Two woman playing knucklebones on a painting found at Résina (Herculaneum) Dice were first used not at games; they had role in prophesying. Dicing was prohibited not because of its hazard character but because it profanized religious action. During the Republic it was only allowed at Saturnalias. In the Imperial Age is spread all over the Empire; Emperor Claudius himself had written a book about dicing. Justinian's laws prohibited them again. First people were playing with unprocessed sheep's bones and these were called astragali. A fresco from Herculaneum represents two women playing at knucklebones (astragali). (Fig. 36.) This game was played without a dice box and the knucklebones thrown up fell on the back of their hands. Maybe they threw up several knucklebones at one time and the more were caught the better. This game is called today "tika" in Hungarian and it is still played. Polenx Lexicographus also describes the rules of a game of dice. It was called "five stones" game [irereXzUoc). Another type of the game was when the respective side of the knucklebones (e. g. convex, concave) was taken into consideration; according to this the throw could be. The Latin name of dicing also reaches back to these small, unprocessed bones (knucklebones). Since the ankle bone of animals was called talus in Latin, the name of the dicing game has come from this word: tali. Later bones were processed. At the beginning, values two and five were missing from the dice since the end of the die was rounded. The brick shaped "dice" are reminiscents of this form. The figures were placed on the die following a certain system, having carefully in mind that the total of figures placed on opposite sides must always be seven. This circumstance also refers to the once magic role of dicing. Dice box (Nos. 637-638.) Fig. 37. Dice box Dice box (Fig. 37.) had different names such as: PYRGUS, TURRICULA, PHIRIUS, FRITILLUS. There are two dice boxes in our Collection. Bone dice boxes were processed with a technique and shape agreeing with unguentum jars. But, unlike unguentum jars, they were