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Ludus Coriovalli: using artificial intelligence-driven simulations to identify rules for an ancient board game

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2026

Walter Crist*
Affiliation:
Centre for Digital Humanities, Leiden University, The Netherlands
Éric Piette
Affiliation:
Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics (ICTEAM), Université Catholique de Louvain, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Karen Jeneson
Affiliation:
Het Romeins Museum, Heerlen, The Netherlands
Dennis J.N.J. Soemers
Affiliation:
Department of Advanced Computing Sciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
Matthew Stephenson
Affiliation:
College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
Luk van Goor
Affiliation:
Restauratieatelier Restaura, Heerlen, The Netherlands
Cameron Browne
Affiliation:
Department of Advanced Computing Sciences, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
*
Author for correspondence: Walter Crist wcrist@asu.edu
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Abstract

The history of games is obscured by our inability to recognise indicators of play in the archaeological record. Lines incised on a piece of rounded limestone found at the Roman site of Coriovallum in Heerlen, The Netherlands, evoke a board game yet do not reflect the grid of any game known today. Here, the results of use-wear analysis are used to inform artificial intelligence-driven simulations based on permutations of rules from historic Northern European games. Disproportionate wear along specific lines favours the rules of blocking games, potentially extending the time depth and regional use of this game type.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd
Figure 0

Figure 1. Object 04433 in Het Romeins Museum, Heerlen, the Netherlands: A) top surface, before cleaning, with pencil marks outlining the incised lines; B) the bottom and sides of the object show intentional shaping. Each scale is 100mm (photographs courtesy of Restaura).

Figure 1

Figure 2. Kunrader limestone blocks forming the foundation of the porticus of the Roman baths of Coriovallum. The rough-hewn blocks are from a local quarry. A Norroy limestone pillar base rests atop them (photograph courtesy of Het Romeins Museum).

Figure 2

Figure 3. Glass game pieces from Coriovallum. Het Romeins Museum object numbers, clockwise from top left: 00474, 24132, 26016, 26015, 08097, 26014, 00471, 24134 (photograph courtesy of Het Romeins Museum).

Figure 3

Figure 4. Possible board geometries based on the lines seen on the surface of the stone. The numbers indicate the index of each line used to track their use during AI simulations (figure by authors).

Figure 4

Figure 5. Starting positions for haretavl rulesets considered for AI-driven simulations. Not every permutation of starting position and board is shown, only those where a difference in the board geometry changes the placement of the pieces. A and B) applied to all six boards; C) applied to boards 5 and 6; D) applied to boards 3 and 4; E) applied to boards 1 and 2; F) applied to board 5; G and H) applied to board 6; I) applied to boards 1 and 2; J) applied to boards 3 and 4; K) applied to board 3; L) applied to boards 3 and 4; M) applied to boards 5 and 6; N) applied to board 5; O) applied to boards 1 and 2; P) applied to boards 3 and 4; Q) applied to boards 3 and 4; R) applied to board 3 (figure by authors).

Figure 5

Figure 6. Digital model of object 04433, created using photogrammetry and photometric stereo technique shown with raking light (A) to emphasise surface topography and also showing the lines without pencil marks, and (B) as a visualisation of the depth map, demonstrating lower surfaces (pink) along the lines on the object. The surface of the stone can be seen to be generally rough, but along the bottom right diagonal the surface is noticeably smooth. C) Depth map superimposed on real-colour image of the stone. Reddish tones indicate higher surface topography (models by Luk van Goor; figure by authors).

Figure 6

Figure 7. Approximate locations of microtopography images. Locations 8.A, B, G and H are shown in Figure 8; A–L are shown in Figure S4 (model by Luk van Goor).

Figure 7

Figure 8. Microtopography of object 04433. Some surfaces are unabraded: A) location 8.A; B) location 8.B; C) vertical edge of the stone; D) underside of the stone. Other surfaces show levelling consistent with abrasion: G) location 8.G; H) location 8.H. Microtopographic images of naturally broken, unworked Norroy limestone (F) and the flattened surface of the inscription of object 03803 (E), also made of Norroy limestone, are provided for comparison (photographs by Walter Crist).

Figure 8

Figure 9. Results of the AI-driven simulation that produced asymmetrical play along the relevant diagonal line. These are games in which the player with more pieces attempts to block the player with fewer pieces. Pieces are illustrated in their starting positions; where no pieces begin on the board they are placed alternately until all are placed. White indicates player one. Boards are shown after transformation with the most-used diagonal on the bottom right (figure by authors).

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