Martha Cooper, ©National Geographic Society

Rolling the bones must have been a popular entertainment among Roman troops. Dice are frequently found associated with Roman army remains at other sites. These two, made of bone and undated, are similar to first-century A.D. Roman dice known from other sites. They turned up in neighboring excavation trenches at the foundation of the fortified tower at Sepphoris. The die at right has seen a lot of use, for it is well worn. By contrast the die at left, with sharp corners and edges, has been used little, if at all. Their faces exhibit the same arrangement of numbers as on a standard modern die (that is, opposite faces add up to seven), except that the five is to the left of the four and six on the left die and to the right of them on the right die.