Harappan Era "Stone Toys" Discovered in Kutch?

The Lothal artifacts.  Game
pieces, most likely.  But, could
they possibly be chess pieces?

"Stone toys" - could they be what some Indian archaeologists have identified as "chess pieces" from Lothal?  The article is tantalizing, and provides almost no information!

From The Times of IndiaOrnaments of Harappan era found in Kutch
TNN, Jan 5, 2011, 10.50pm IST

BHUJ: In a remarkable finding, officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have recovered a number of artifacts belonging to Harappan era from Khirsara (Netra-Gadhwali) in Nakhatrana taluka of Kutch district during an ongoing excavation.

Jitendra Das, superintending archaeologist, excavation branch ASI Baroda, said: "At least two necklaces, resembling present-day gold ornaments, have been recovered beside other artifacts like stone toys, utensils, weighing stones etc. The ornaments are similar to those recovered from a Harappan site in Lothal, near Ahmedabad. The artifacts will be sent to laboratory for determining their age."

A fifteen-member team of ASI has been camping at the site for past 18 months with over sixty labourers deployed at the site. The excavation is being carried out on a ten-acre plot of land.

Blast from the Past: Knucklebones

Why would a woman in ancient Persia have been buried with "some 600 pieces" of knucklebones in her grave? Here is the article:

From Payvand.com
10/5/05
Iran: Female Gambler Skeleton Comes out of Grave
Tehran, 4 October 2005 (CHN) – Archaeologists excavating the ancient cemetery of Gohar Tepe of Mazandaran, north of Iran, discovered some 600 pieces of bone used in a gambling game inside the tomb of a woman.

Gohar Tepe is one of the key archaeological sites of Mazandaran province, providing experts with surprising ancient evidence in the last four seasons of work there. People resided in the region since 5000 years ago to the first millennium BC, enjoying a civilization and urban life characteristics.

The game pieces found in the tomb belong to a traditional Persian game called "Ghap" which is played with the bone remains of sheep foot knuckle.

As head of the excavation team of Gohar Tepe, Ali Mahforouzi, explained to CHN, potsherds discovered alongside the woman and the game bones show her to date back to the first millennium BC.

"So many pieces have never been found from one single grave; moreover, with the large number of potsherds found in the tomb, we assume the woman to have had a special social status," Mahforouzi said.

The interesting point about the game pieces is that they are all in the same size which puts forward the hypothesis of them belonging to a collection maybe gathered by the woman; some of the bones are also pierced which make experts believe that the woman should have used them as for a necklace. [Or perhaps she was the owner of a gambling establishment and some of the tools of her trade were buried with her.]

"The tomb was found besides a clay platform. The corpse was found next to the platform and the game pieces from underneath it. This raises many questions that could not yet be answered," added Mahforouzi.

Two dress and hair pins have been found on the woman's chest and on the back of her head, revealing that she wore a dress and had her hair done in the back. Another discovery inside the tomb is a huge jug with some measurement scales, the use of which is not yet clear. [So, there seems to be no question that the skeleton was a female - gasp!] "Many similar scales have been discovered in other graves of the cemetery," said Mahforouzi.

Archaeological excavations will continue in the area for two months.
***************************************************************************************
"Ghap" - the origin of the popular dice came "craps?"

Little Green Man

It seems particularly during the Roman period of the Egyptian Empire that "little green man" gaming pieces came into vogue. Here's one for sale at BC Galleries in Australia:

Item Code: a5755
Description:
A fragmentary glazed faience figurine of Harpocrates, the infant Horus. A fully three-dimensional figure with flat, circular base; possibly a large game piece.
Origin:
Roman period, circa 1st-2nd century A.D. Egypt
Dimensions:
Height: 62 mm
Price: AUD$650 USD$542 (approx.)