The ancient Roman board game baffled experts for decades – until AI played

A limestone slab unearthed in 1984 from the ancient settlement of Coriovallum in the Netherlands puzzled researchers of Roman history. Due to its distinct grooves and markings, the piece of stone was believed to be some kind of board game – but apparently no rule book has been unearthed to confirm this. Now, more than 40 years later, new technology appears to have solved the mystery.

An international team of researchers led by Maastricht University in the Netherlands, together with Leiden University, Australia’s Flinders University, Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium and the Roman museum and restoration studio Restaura in Heerlen, used 3D scanning and AI to decipher the rules of this mysterious game that no human has yet been able to decipher.

The oval stone, approximately 21 x 14.5 cm (8.3 x 5.7 in) in diameter and marked on one side with distinct cut lines, had all the hallmarks of a game played in ancient times. As the researchers find in their work,…