Board and Gambling Games of Ancient Rome

Long before the rise of Rome, people engaged in gambling. The oldest known dice were discovered by archaeologists in northern India, in the ancient state of Harappa. These dice, made of baked clay, date back to the 3rd millennium BC. The Romans likely adopted dice games from the Greeks, who were themselves avid gamblers, using the same six-sided dice with pips on the faces that are familiar to us today.

The Dice Game of Achilles and Ajax. Ancient Greek vase, 6th century BC.