Overview
- Archaeologist Walter Crist identified a 21×14.5 cm limestone plate with carved lines in the Roman baths archive at Heerlen, ancient Coriovallum.
- Microscopy and high‑resolution 3D scans dated the object to roughly 1,500–1,700 years ago and found concentrated wear along the engraved lines.
- Researchers ran two AI agents trained on later European rule sets to test gameplay patterns against the board’s wear traces.
- The best fit was a blocking‑style game in which pieces maneuver to immobilize an opponent, pushing evidence for such games back into the Roman period.
- The team has posted a playable reconstruction called Ludus Coriovalli and says a full report is slated for the journal Antiquity.