Rock Around the Clock! How Archaeologists Solved a 2,000-Year-Old Board Game Mystery

Wow in the World

The episode begins with a comedic segment where the hosts attempt to clean out Thomas Fingerling's dusty attic, stumbling upon various strang

Key takeaways

• A mysterious piece of limestone with intersecting scratches was discovered in Coriovalo, Netherlands, in 1984.
• Archaeologist Dr. Walter Christ used 3D scanning to analyze the depth and wear of the lines on the stone.

Main topics

• Archaeology
• Ancient Roman History

Notable quotes

It's one thing to dig up a rock, but a rock with scratches on it? What could this mean?

Conclusion

The episode illustrates the powerful synergy between ancient archaeolo

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) Hey, Wowzer fans, Mindy here. And before we start the show, are you a kid who wows? Of course you are. Well, listen up because I am searching for the perfect wow kid to join me as a guest on an upcoming episode of two What's in a Wow People Who Wow edition. Together, we'll play three rounds of my getting to know you game show. And along the way, we'll get to know all about you, your hidden talents, your hobbies, your funniest stories. Plus, the winner will also receive a prize pack of Wow in the World toys and books. Want a chance to be on the show? Ask your grown-ups to enter our Kids Who Wow contest. Grown-ups record a short video of your wowzer sharing three true wow facts about their life. Then ask them to tell you the story behind one of those facts. Enter for a chance to win when you send us your video at Tinkercast.com slash contest. Grown-ups, you can learn more about the rules for this contest and upload your submission before October 1st at Tinkercast.com slash contest. That's Tinkercast.com slash contest. And now for a quick ad break and then back to the show. Speaker 5 (1:51) Andy, we made it up the stairs. Now open that door in front of you so we can Speaker 4 (1:57) see what's inside. Okay, everyone. We are about to enter Thomas Fingerling's semi-centennial quinquaginary golden jubilee. A golden jubilee? I thought we were here to clean out Speaker 5 (2:12) Tommy's smelly old attic. Speaker 3 (2:13) Yeah, me too. I even brought my favorite label maker. Stop! Speaker 5 (2:17) I want to know more about this semi-imaginary colon jujubee. Speaker 4 (2:22) Okay, semi-centennial and quinquaginary and golden jubilee are all words used to describe something that you do every 50 years. Oh, Speaker 3 (2:33) I still don't get it. Speaker 4 (2:34) Yeah, me too. Okay, I'm just trying to make Thomas Fingerling's first attic clean out in 50 years sound like a fun party. Oh, okay. But Speaker 3 (2:43) cleaning and organizing is a fun party. And don't even... get me started on alphabetizing. So we are cleaning Tommy's dusty old attic? That's right. Oh, this is going to be great. We'll go in there and see what sparks joy. And then we'll start by making three piles. One to keep, one to trash, and one to donate. I'll label each one with my label maker. Speaker 5 (3:05) Quit talking and open the door. I can't stand on these creaky old stairs for any longer. Speaker 4 (3:13) Okay. Here. We... Speaker 5 (3:16) Go! Speaker 3 (3:21) Oh, no. Speaker 5 (3:22) High spider, high rat, high nest of baby raccoon babies, high bats, high pelican, high... Ew! Speaker 1 (3:32) It's really Speaker 5 (3:33) gross and dusty up here. Speaker 3 (3:35) When was the last time you said you cleaned out your attic, Speaker 6 (3:38) Thomas Fingerling? Didn't we just go over this? It was 50 years ago. Don't the words Golden Jubilee mean anything Speaker 5 (3:44) to you? Hey, look what I found! A weird little fluke. Speaker 6 (3:48) Oh yeah, that there is an old flute given to me by my great-grandfather Fingerling. He used to play it around town when he was just a boy. How old is this flute? It looks prehistoric. Speaker 4 (4:01) Yeah, looks like it's made out of hollowed out bird bone or something. Well, Speaker 6 (4:04) that's because it is. And I bet it still works too. Speaker 6 (4:17) girl still got it. Speaker 5 (4:19) Hey everybody, look what I found. Speaker 6 (4:23) Teeth. Gee, Forrest, you spit those teeth out right now. Whose teeth Speaker 3 (4:29) are those? None of your business. Speaker 5 (4:31) Well, they're mine now. Double-decker dentures. Pretty Speaker 6 (4:35) cow. Hey Speaker 5 (4:36) everyone, Speaker 4 (4:36) look what Speaker 5 (4:37) I found. Oh wow, Speaker 3 (4:39) a dusty old bar. with all the words scratched out and peeling off. Oh, wow. Well, that's okay. Just open the box, and once we see what's inside, I'll give that box a proper label. Did I tell you all I brought my label maker? Yes. Speaker 5 (4:54) Well, what are you waiting for, Mindy? Open the box. Found a box up here in the attic, and now we're going to find out what's in the box. Okay, here Speaker 4 (5:05) we go. Speaker 4 (5:09) There we go. Speaker 6 (5:10) Oh, now let's take a look-see. What do we have here? Speaker 5 (5:14) Oh, looks like there's mouse droppings. Speaker 6 (5:17) And Speaker 5 (5:18) some bird droppings. And are those dog Speaker 4 (5:22) droppings? What in the... Oh, Speaker 3 (5:25) what are you doing on that? And it looks like there are also some cards with painted symbols on them. Speaker 4 (5:30) And a spinner of some sort. A Speaker 3 (5:33) three-sided die and some strange... Droppings? Speaker 5 (5:38) No, well... Speaker 3 (5:39) Yes, but no, look at these. They look like tiny carved animal figurines or something. Could this be an old antique Speaker 4 (5:47) board game? Speaker 3 (5:48) This must be a hundred years old. Speaker 5 (5:50) Well, then it's obviously from your childhood, Tommy. Do you remember playing Speaker 4 (5:54) this board game when you were a little kid, Speaker 6 (5:56) Thomas Fingerling? Well, I don't suppose I do. With Speaker 5 (5:59) no clear words on the box, how do we even know it's an old board game? Because I'm bored. Speaker 3 (6:05) And old. Speaker 5 (6:06) I'm a teenager. Speaker 3 (6:07) Okay, well, time to get to work. This attic isn't going to organize itself. Come on, label Speaker 4 (6:12) maker. Okay, come on, everyone. We're Speaker 5 (6:15) going to have three piles here. Wait! Speaker 1 (6:19) What? Speaker 4 (6:19) This old board game... Speaker 5 (6:21) Alleged board game. Speaker 4 (6:22) Right, whatever it is. It reminds me of this fascinating new scientific study I just read in the archaeological journal Antiquity. No! Speaker 3 (6:34) Oh, hi there, little goat. Is that Speaker 4 (6:36) supposed to be up here? Speaker 3 (6:37) Wait a minute, Mindy. You