BERGEN, NORWAY—According to a Life in Norway report, researchers led by Morten Ramstad of Bergen University Museum discovered Iron Age game pieces in a burial cairn in western Norway. The site, known as Ytre Fosse, is located on the sea route connecting northern and southern Norway, and contains multiple cremation burials. The almost-intact elongated dice and 18 game pieces, which have been dated to around A.D. 300, were found among pottery fragments and pieces of burnt glass. Ramstad explained that the gaming pieces were likely status objects obtained through contact with the Roman Empire. “People who played games like this were local aristocracy or upper class,” he said. “The game showed that you had the time, profits and ability to think strategically.” A game board has not been recovered. To read about the gradual standardization of dice in the Netherlands, go to "No Dice Left Unturned."
