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Only fragments of the board have been recovered, researchers said, adding that it may have intentionally been destroyed.
Photo from the journal Lucentum
During an excavation in northwestern Spain, archaeologists unearthed a “very unusual” collection of ceramic objects.
After careful analysis, they determined the pieces once composed an Iron Age board game, making it one of the oldest recreational artifacts ever found in Spain, according to a study published on Jan. 31 in the journal Lucentum.
The ceramic pieces were found near the walls of an ancient settlement in Galicia — an autonomous community on the Atlantic coast — during an excavation in 2021.
Why exactly it was destroyed is not clear, though it may have been done so intentionally before it was deposited along the settlement’s walls, researchers said.
Among the pieces found were fragments of a flat board, which had a series of holes carved into it, as well as 25 ceramic tokens, researchers said.
Using radiocarbon dating, researchers determined they were created sometime around the Iron Age, which stretched from about 1200 to 1000 B.C.
However, determining further details proved to be a “headache” due to the fractured nature of the artifact and the lack of comparable findings.
Initially, researchers thought the complete object may have functioned as a mold or cast for metal production. However, this option was ruled out as there was no other evidence of metallurgy.
Eventually, they settled on labeling it as a board game — though further research is needed to prove this hypothesis.
The apparent board game bears some similarities to other prehistoric games from other cultures, including senet, an Egyptian game, as well as Mancala, which originated in Jordan.
In addition to being one of the oldest known recreational artifacts found in Spain, it is the first-ever one to be found in the northwestern region of the country, researchers said.
Google Translate was used to translate the study published in the journal Lucentum.
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Brendan Rascius
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