Die
Description
Dice. Roman Period, 30 B.C.–A.D. 330. Ivory. 0.9 × 0.9 × 1 cm (3/8 × 3/8 × 3/8 in.). From: Oxyrhynchus (Bahnasa), Middle Egypt, Egypt. Excavation: EEF excavations 1896–97. Credit: Gift of Egypt Exploration Fund, 1897.
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
Small carved cube of ivory showing painted/inked dot-and-mark patterns on multiple faces.
The image depicts a small, light-colored, cube-shaped object with rounded edges. On the top face there are two rows of dark circular elements (dots) arranged within a rectangular field; the bottom and side faces show additional groups of dark dots and short curved strokes, consistent with a dice-like marking system rather than legible text or figural scenes. No hieroglyphs, Greek, Coptic, or Arabic letters are clearly discernible; the markings appear as abstract dots/indices. No cartouche, royal name, or divine iconography is visible. The material appears to be ivory or ivory-like (smooth, creamy surface), matching the catalogue’s stated material. Overall context as a “Die” is consistent with the object shape and dot/number layout, though the exact numbering is not fully legible.
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access).
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.