Chessquest

Lessons from Archaeology - Part I
by Jan Newton
June 22, 2003

Editor's Note: The following paper (which we present in full) was written for the Institute of Nautical Archaeology http://www.diveturkey.com/inaturkey/serce.htm INA Newsletter in 1988, one of several papers prepared describing the artefacts recovered from an 11th century CE merchantman called the "Glass Wreck". The Institute of Nautical Archaeology and Texas A&M University excavated the shipwreck at Serae Limani, a natural harbor on the Turkish coast directly north of Rhodes, during the summers of 1977 through 1979. THE "GAMING PIECES"

http://www.diveturkey.com/inaturkey/serce/gaming.htm
by Ken Cassavoy

During the course of the excavation of the Glass Wreck, tens of thousands of individual artifacts were recovered from the site. Among these were eight Medieval chessmen, a round gaming tablemat, and a bronze cube resembling a die (single dice) which were grouped for study into a "gaming piece' category of finds. As a group, they represent just one small piece in the massive archaeological puzzle of the Glass Wreck. Yet, independently, these ten simple objects have provided valuable information concerning both the vessel and the crew who sailed in her.

The Chess and Backgammon Pieces
The eight chess pieces found on the Glass Wreck are of Islamic design and include a Shaw (now referred to as King), a Firz (Minister-now Queen), two Rukh (Chariot-now Rook), one Fara and three Baidaq (foot soldier-now Pawn). The only piece not represented in the Glass Wreck set is a Fil (Elephant-now Bishop). These simple wooden chessmen undoubtedly were carved and shaped very quickly, probably from materials at hand and apparently using just a knife or simple carving tool and a small file. They are of a very basic nonrepresentational design which had been in widespread use around the Mediterranean for centuries before the ship sank. Islamic concern about the use of images clearly was a major factor in the creation of these abstract shapes to represent the kings, elephants, horses and other figures used in the game at that time.

The bone gaming tablemat found on the Glass Wreck is round with concentric grooves cut into the sides and top. It is similar in shape and appearance to a modern checkers or backgammon tablemat. This simple standard form of tablemat has been in existence since at least early Roman times and used interchangeably for various games. There can be no certainty of the specific game in which the tablemat was used; however, in the opinion of those who have studied the history of games extensively, the Glass Wreck tablemat most probably would have come from a backgammon set.

In considering the possible passengers and crew of the Glass Wreck, a study of the history of chess, chess pieces, and backgammon has been useful. The form of the pieces and the views of medieval societies concerning various games allows us to propose that the person who possessed the Glass Wreck chess set was Islamic or closely associated with Islamic society. A study of the movement of the game of chess in and through social levels, allows us to suggest also that the owner of the chessmen was more likely to have been an officer of the ship or perhaps a passenger. On the other hand, the owner of the backgammon piece was probably a simple member of the crew.

In terms of the vessel itself, since the gaming pieces were undoubtedly personal possessions, the general area where the chessmen were recovered almost certainly represents a living area on the ship. With an understanding of the established accommodation practices on ships, and because the owner was more likely to be an officer or a passenger, we can suggest that the general area of the chessmen finds is likely at the stern of the vessel. At the same time, it is probable that the area in which the backgammon table was found is another living area, in this case for regular crew members. These suggestions are more certain in relation to the chessmen with all eight pieces found in one general area, less certain in terms of the single backgammon tablemat. On a different level, one explanation for the somewhat problematical pattern of dispersal of the chessmen in the stern area provides us with a reasonable basis for the suggestion that the Glass Wreck had at least a partial deck. Perhaps the pieces were loosely stored and some floated out through the open hatches or undecked areas while others remained trapped beneath a deck and eventually settled to the bottom in the distribution pattern recorded during the excavation.

The shape and design of the Glass Wreck backgammon tablemat is essentially universal and timeless. The chessmen fall into a very different category. They are the most precisely-dated chessmen from the first five or six centuries of the game's existence, and they are very unusual pieces. Unlike most extant chessmen of the period, they are simple and carry no apparent decoration. Just as the Serçe Limani ship probably represents a simple, average working vessel of its time, the Glass Wreck chess pieces are perhaps more truly representative of 11th-century chessmen than any other existing pieces.

The Bronze Cube The cube-shaped bronze piece has a series of small holes, similar to pips on dice, on each of its six faces. These small holes vary from a maximum of fourteen on one face to a minimum of five on another. Larger indentations are present on four of the six faces. The cube was found inside the remnants of a wood casing which appeared to have been just large enough to accommodate the cube itself. The cube weighs approximately 42.6 grams.

The dice-like appearance of the bronze cube and its location in the stern area of the wreck, near one of the chess pieces, made the original grouping with the gaming pieces a reasonable one. However, the pip pattern on the cube does not bear any resemblance to those on dice used in any game during the period of history. Other objects found in close association support the more likely identification of the cube as a weight. Within a meter or so around the cube were found six glass weights, five metal weights, a counterbalance, and a large number of other objects related to commercial activities. Although it is still under study, a possible relationship between this weight and the North African miskal (or miscal, mitgal, etc.) unit of weight and /or the Islamic dinar unit of currency has already been suggested.

The "gaming pieces" from the Glass Wreck demonstrate how important a single category of simple finds can be in the interpretation of an excavated shipwreck. If these ten small objects had been the only artifacts found on the site we could still draw important conclusions about the Glass Wreck and those who sailed in her in A.D.1025. Beyond what they can tell us archaeologically, the gaming pieces almost inevitably draw us closer to the people who sailed on the final voyage of this doomed vessel. We establish a direct link with these 11th-century seamen as they take a break from their duties to play chess and backgammon, games which are still popular today, nearly a millennium after the shipwreck occurred. The Glass Wreck becomes less of a failed Medieval commercial venture and more of a timeless, personal tragedy-an involving story of a small merchant trader and her crew.