RECREATION OR DECORATION: WHAT WERE THE GLASS COUNTERS FROM POMPEII USED FOR?

Abstract

This paper considers the small glass objects often called counters, which are common finds at Pompeii, and normally thought to have been used in playing games. An assemblage of over 500 stratigraphically dated examples from Insula VI.1 are examined, and the colour and size of this group are compared to a dataset of first-centuryadglass counters found in graves where they can be shown with certainty to be part of gaming sets. The comparisons show that the bulk of the Pompeii counters are very unlikely to have been used in gaming, a conclusion that is supported by the types of counters that would have been necessary to play games such asludus latrunculorumandludus duodecim scriptorum. Other functions are considered and it is suggested that many of the Pompeiian counters might have been used for interior decoration. The rise of a specialist production of counters that could have been used in gaming is demonstrated, and it is suggested this might have implications for the development of craft specialization and demonstrate the rise of leisure time in the first centuryad.