“They would play for fun, but tables was well suited for gambling”, says McLees. The game was initially popular among the highest aristocratic groups, but filtered down to other parts of society, particularly in the towns. The wooden gaming-piece found in Oslo most likely belongs to a game called tables, according to McLees – a precursor to modern day backgammon. At home, while having a beer at the tavern, anywhere and anytime really”, he says.ĭrawing of a collection of medieval gaming-pieces found in Trondheim in central Norway. “People played games all the time, in various settings. “It’s quite obvious that playing games was popular at this time”, McLees says. Sciencenorway.no emailed McLees photos of the finds from Oslo, in order to find out more about the use of these particular gaming-pieces. Just over 30 years ago, McLees wrote what has become a reference work on the topic of games in the Middle Ages, Games people played. Called Nidaros in the Middle Ages, Trondheim was the capital of Norway’s first Christian kings. McLees is an archaeologist with NIKU’s office in Trondheim, in central Norway. “We have plenty of these kinds of gaming-pieces from medieval Trondheim, dated to the 13th and 14th century”, says Chris McLees. (Photo: Ida Irene Bergstrøm) For fun, and for money Whether or not they end up in an exhibition remains to be seen. Since 2013, excavations in Oslo have unearthed items and objects that have given new insights into medieval Oslo. They will then be transferred to the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. For now, the gaming-pieces are carefully stored away at the field offices of the excavation.
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