Research into Roman board game nominated for ‘Research of the Year’
Leiden researcher Walter Crist and his team reconstructed the rules of a 2,000-year-old board game. For this extraordinary research, Quest magazine has nominated him for the People’s Choice Award. Voting is open until 7 October.
Quest nominated five researchers from different universities for the People’s Choice Award.
Voting is open until 7 October.
Vote now!Crist discovered the stone in 2020 in the collection of the Thermen Museum. This carved limestone slab was unearthed in the Dutch city of Heerlen, once the major Roman settlement of Coriovallum. Crist, who specialises in ancient games, was immediately intrigued. Examining the stone under a microscope, he identified wear marks along the lines where playing pieces would have been moved.
Blocking game
Crist assembled a team of researchers from institutions in the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia. The team used AI to infer the rules of the game. They discovered that the wear on the stone was most likely caused by a blocking game: a board game in which the aim is to prevent your opponent from moving. Read more about the research: Researchers crack the rules of unknown board game.
Response to nomination
Crist is delighted to have been nominated. ‘Our team feels deeply honoured. We’re pleased that research into ancient games, which for a long time received little attention, is now reaching such a wide audience.’ Quest will announce on 10 November which of the five nominees has won the People’s Choice Award.
In the Researcher of the Year category, Leiden researcher Marieke Liem has been nominated for her work to combat femicide. This is a jury prize, so the public cannot vote.
Walter Crist would like to thank all the institutions involved for their support: in addition to Leiden University these include Het Romeins Museum, Maastricht University, UCLouvain, Flinders University, ERC Digital Ludeme Project and GameTable. The research was carried out as part of the ERC Digital Ludeme Project, a programme at Maastricht University where Crist worked during the project’s first few years. He completed the research at Leiden University.