An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c11.s7.t2.1

v1.c11.s7.t2.1

Simple gaming pieces consist of a flat bottom with a definite head or grooved channel to differentiate the body from the head. The varieties include solid cylinders having flat circular disc base, incised conical top decorated with animal heads and so on. Specimens are known from the Harappa sites [4.9] of DESALPUR, KALIBANGAN, LOTHAL, ROJDI, SURKOTADA, etc. At LOTHAL they are made of stone, ivory, bone, conch-shell and terracotta, the shapes being pyramidal, conical, small tetrahedral, cylindrical, and castle-like, with button-shaped tops; the decorated ones include those with heads of animals like the dog, bull, ram, horse and so on. One with a pyramidal head having an ivory handle is a fine decorated model. Others include terracotta ones with ram heads from DESALPUR and simple yet delicate chert and terracotta specimens from KALIBANGAN. At GILUND (Chalcolithic [4.14.1]) there are varieties in terracotta, some with animal heads, one of them identified as that of a ram. Simple ones in terracotta are also reported from LAL QILA (OCW [4.12] levels) and at ATRANJIKHERA and NOH (PGW [4.15] levels).