Gloucester tabula set

The Gloucester tabula set is the earliest surviving board and complete set of counters for the game tabula, a predecessor of backgammon.[2] Dating from the 11th or early 12th century, it is an example of Romanesque art. Discovered on the site of Gloucester Castle in 1983, in the English city of Gloucester, it is now on display in the Museum of Gloucester.

Gloucester tabula set
Material	Bone
Size	Approx. 450 × 600mm (board), pieces 45mm[1]
Created	11th century, or 1100-20.
Discovered	1983 Gloucester 51.8643°N 2.2502°W
Present location	Museum of Gloucester
Culture	Romanesque

Description

The set was excavated at 28–32 Commercial Road, Gloucester, the site of a Norman castle.[3] One hundred and fifty pieces of carved bone were found at the bottom of a late-11th-century rubbish pit. These comprised a full set of 30 gaming pieces, and fragments of the board.[4] Some fragments are missing, and there is evidence of deliberate damage in four places. This suggests that the set was deliberately broken up elsewhere, and dumped in the pit.[5] Archaeological evidence suggests that this happened c. 1070-1120, with study of the artistic characteristics of the set indicating a date of around 1100.[6]

The set, like modern backgammon boards, contains 24 'points', around which the playing pieces would have been moved. The points are divided into two groups of 12, each with different decoration; there is no evidence that the points were coloured. One section of the board was found apparently complete, and suggests that the patterns would have alternated.[4] The points are obelisk shaped. Roman boards had square points, with triangular points appearing only in the 13th century. The design is therefore transitional between these.[4]

The board included spaces between points, and rectangular plates laid lengthways down the centre of the board. The latter are covered in an interlaced snake design.[4]

There is no evidence to indicate that the board was hinged.[7] Corrosion from iron pins indicates that the bone inlay was fastened to a wooden base, about 600 by 450 mm (24 by 18 in) in size.[1][7]

Pieces

The set comprises a full set of 30 gaming pieces. The pieces average 44.5 mm (1.75 in) in diameter and are 7.5 mm (0.3 in) thick. It is possible that a lathe was used in the manufacture. A central dimple is present on 26 of the 30 pieces.[7]

No dice were found.[4] The pieces' depictions have been identified as follows. Pieces 1–15 are made from red deer skull, 16–30 from red deer antler. There is no evidence that the pieces were stained to create two distinctly coloured sets. There are no unifying themes in the symbolism that would enable the counters to be grouped into sets.[8]

The attributions below are from Darvill (1988). Stewart (1993) proposes different interpretations of some of the images.

Red deer skull pieces

• 
  Seated figure with bear
• 
  Figure carrying another
• 
  Hanging man
• 
  Squatting figure
• 
  Figure with fish and bird
• 
  Seated figure (possible)
• 
  Elephant
• 
  Aesop's fable
• 
  Seated figure eating
• 
  Two confronting birds
• 
  Hooded archer
• 
  Manticore
• 
  Figure with spear and shield
• 
  Figure seated by fire (possible)
• 
  Seated figure drinking

Red deer antler pieces

• 
  Tress puller
• 
  Man with animal on his back (possible)
• 
  Seated fiddler
• 
  Samson and the lion
• 
  Figure threshing (possible)
• 
  Figure in Orans posture
• 
  Centaur with bow
• 
  Rider
• 
  Copulating couple
• 
  Harpist
• 
  Toad
• 
  Juggler with hoops
• 
  Dancer
• 
  Snake
• 
  Seated figure with hawk

Notes

1. Darvill 1988, p. 31
2. Stewart 1993, p. 90
3. Darvill 1988, p. 1
4. Stewart 1984, p. 186
5. Stewart 1993, A1-4
6. Stewart 1993, p. 88, A2-8
7. Stewart 1984, p. 188
8. Darvill 1988, pp. 31–2

References

• Darvill, Timothy; Greatorex, P. A.; Isaac, P.; Morris, Carole A.; Stewart, I. J.; Straker, Vanessa; Vince, A. G. (1988). "Excavations on the Site of the Early Norman Castle at Gloucester, 1983–84". Medieval Archaeology. 32 (1): 1–49. doi:10.1080/00766097.1988.11735500.
• Norman, Mark; Black, James (1987). "The conservation of the Gloucester tabula set". Recent advances in the conservation and analysis of artifacts. London. pp. 37–39. ISBN 0-9512429-0-3.
• Stewart, Ian; Watkins, Malcolm (1984). "An 11th-century bone tabula set from Gloucester [preliminary account]". Medieval Archaeology. 28: 185–90.
• Stewart, I. J. (1993). The Gloucester Tabulae set: its discovery and interpretation (PhD). Bristol.

External links

• Media related to Gloucester Tabula Set at Wikimedia Commons