5,000-Year-Old Gaming Pieces Found In Turkey (PHOTO)
5,000-Year-Old Gaming Pieces Found In Turkey (PHOTO)
The Huffington Post | By Meredith Bennett-Smith Posted: 09/03/2013 4:58 pm EDT | Updated: 09/03/2013 4:58 pm EDT
A fascinating find in southeastern Turkey may provide clues to the leisure activities of ancient cultures in the region thousands of years ago.
Earlier in August, Turkish archaeologists working at a burial site at Başur Höyük, near Siirt, Turkey, discovered dozens of elaborately carved, 5,000-year-old stones in different shapes and colors, according to Discovery News. These Bronze Age stones are believed to be some of the oldest examples ever found of ancient game pieces.
"Some depict pigs, dogs and pyramids, others feature round and bullet shapes. We also found dice as well as three circular tokens made of white shell and topped with a black round stone," Haluk Sağlamtimur, a researcher with Ege University in İzmir, Turkey, told Discovery News.
The pieces could be part of a single, chess-like game, Sağlamtimur said, which would make the find even more unusual. Other experts are not so sure, however.
More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/03/5000-year-old-gaming-pieces-turkey-oldest-gambling_n_3861621.html
[center]
[/center]