These two artifacts are among my
all-time favorite archaeological finds.
The first, pictured above, is a
jeweler's mold from the Viking era. I think it was found at Hedeby.
Using this mold, the enterprising silversmith could cast
Thor's-hammer pendants for believers in the old religion, and
Christian crosses for believers in the new, at the same time. Nothing
like free enterprise, and the profit motive, to promote tolerance.
The second is this . . .
. . . a pair of loaded dice from
Pompeii. Loaded dice have also been found at various Legionary forts
and garrison towns.
A neat thing about studying the past is
that it makes you marvel, simultaneously, at how much we have changed
over the centuries, and how little.
