The gaming piece of the Romans, and before them of the Greek, was round, with a flat bottom and slightly arched top [Hoops 1911-1919; Brettspiel]. Below some evidence.
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Fragment of a classical gaming board with 2 pieces from Cyprus [Laser 1987:204bis] |
Terracotta group from classical Athens [Archäologische Zeitung 1863] |
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Medieval gaming board [Sebastian Brant "Das Narren-schiff" (1494)] |
Laser [1987:126]: gaming pieces which have been preserved from old times and which are not flat, all originate from Egypt and the Middle East. Below some pictures with upright gaming pieces.
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Draughts board with pieces [Alfonso ms. 1283, fragment] |
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Draughts players in Bahrein (1999) Jan Wielaard ["Dammen" Sept/Dec. 1999:100] |
Draughts players from Çesme and Izmir (Turkey) ["Hurriyet" (Turkish paper) May 17, 1998] |
Draughts players in Libanon ["Azië" (Dutch magazine) Febr./March 1995] |
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Turkish emigrants in Holland are using Western pieces (Coffee house Hisar in Amsterdam) ["de Volkskrant" (Dutch paper) August 16, 1990] |
