Such objects integral to daily life in the ancient world are discussed in the Archaeological Views column “Board Games in Biblical Gath” by Shira Albaz, Itzhaq Shai, Haskel Greenfield and Aren M. Maeir in the September/October 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, where the authors present fragmentary finds of gaming boards, playing pieces, and throwing knucklebones. Excavated at Tell es-Safi and dating from the Bronze Age, these homely pieces of baked clay and animal bones attest to the popularity of ancient board games in Gath, a Philistine city and hometown of the biblical giant Goliath in the land of Canaan.
“The most common board game in Bronze Age Canaan was the Game of 30 Squares, known as Senet in Egypt,” write the authors, identifying the pieces from Gath as a version of the game still largely popular in Egypt, Sudan, south Sinai and the Negev. “Because the earliest Egyptian example comes from a Predynastic tomb at el-Mahasna (dated to c. 3500 B.C.E.), some scholars believe that Senet originated in Egypt and was later introduced into Canaan as the Game of 30 Squares.”
Continua la lettura su Biblical Archaeology Society
