The rare dice was found by archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) on one of the many excavations currently taking place in the medieval Vågsbunnen district in Bergen, Norway.

Over 30 dice from the Middle Ages have been found in Bergen over the years so the discovery of a dice in itself is not very surprising. This dice is, on the other hand, special.

The dice from Vågsbunnen has two fives and two fours, instead of the numbers one and two. It is therefore very likely that this has been used to cheat in games.

– The dice were found close to a wooden street that dates back to the 1400s. So when looking at the context and the dice design, there is just as much chance that someone has got rid of it, as they have lost it, says Per Christian Underhaug who is the project manager for the excavations in Bergen,

– This part of Bergen was a densely populated district with several inns and pubs, and it is not unlikely that there were lots of games being played in them, says Underhaug.