So what is this place? It is a room in the "House of Gryphons" located on the Palatine Hill in Rome. I don't have time to search it out today, I'm behind my time, darlings, and have got so much to do this last day off before returning to the office tomorrow. Sigh.
That black and white checkerboard in the middle of the floor is, as best I could determine in a brief search, dated back to the "Republican" era of the Roman Empire, so perhaps sometime between 300 BCE - 100 CE??? Not sure about the dates, but it's not "archaic." It's gorgeous, isn't it! In addition to the black and white checkered 11 by 6 board in the middle of the floor of the room, which itself has a pattern on which a large board game could be played, the walls have maroon/white checkerboard patterns.
There is a related article at The New York Times (published July 3, 2009) about some spectacular preserved relics of the past being opened to the public this year, for the first time ever in some cases, thanks to increased funding to make guards and guides available. There are more lovely photographs.
What was the purpose of placing this 11 by 6 black-and-white checkered board (with a border to mark it out, in case you didn't notice it first thing when walking into the room), in the middle of the room? If it was just a design element, why not make it the same colors at the checkerboard patterns that were incorporated into the design on the lower walls? And I cannot make any sense out of the middle "checkerboard" on the back wall (looking at the photographs's back wall, center) that measures 8 by 10.
My eyes are not good enough to count the number of squares on the rest of the checkerboards on the walls. Are they all the same, or are each one of them unqiue? Can anyone with particularly sharp eyes help me out here?
Is a 6 by 11 board significant? How about an 8 by 10 board? I know the ancient Romans did not play their games on square boards (such as 8x8, 9x9 or 10x10, etc.) Is there any significance to the colors chosen?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Palatine Hill Checkerboards
So what is this place? It is a room in the "House of Gryphons" located on the Palatine Hill in Rome. I don't have time to search it out today, I'm behind my time, darlings, and have got so much to do this last day off before returning to the office tomorrow. Sigh.
That black and white checkerboard in the middle of the floor is, as best I could determine in a brief search, dated back to the "Republican" era of the Roman Empire, so perhaps sometime between 300 BCE - 100 CE??? Not sure about the dates, but it's not "archaic." It's gorgeous, isn't it! In addition to the black and white checkered 11 by 6 board in the middle of the floor of the room, which itself has a pattern on which a large board game could be played, the walls have maroon/white checkerboard patterns.
There is a related article at The New York Times (published July 3, 2009) about some spectacular preserved relics of the past being opened to the public this year, for the first time ever in some cases, thanks to increased funding to make guards and guides available. There are more lovely photographs.
What was the purpose of placing this 11 by 6 black-and-white checkered board (with a border to mark it out, in case you didn't notice it first thing when walking into the room), in the middle of the room? If it was just a design element, why not make it the same colors at the checkerboard patterns that were incorporated into the design on the lower walls? And I cannot make any sense out of the middle "checkerboard" on the back wall (looking at the photographs's back wall, center) that measures 8 by 10.
My eyes are not good enough to count the number of squares on the rest of the checkerboards on the walls. Are they all the same, or are each one of them unqiue? Can anyone with particularly sharp eyes help me out here?
Is a 6 by 11 board significant? How about an 8 by 10 board? I know the ancient Romans did not play their games on square boards (such as 8x8, 9x9 or 10x10, etc.) Is there any significance to the colors chosen?
Inquiring minds want to know!
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