Soldiers used a variety of items to relieve the monotony associated with
military service, usually using those items they had on hand or from
materials that could easily be manufactured (i.e. lead dice, bone dominos,
wood chess/checker pieces, etc.).  So, it would not surprise me to find
marbles on a military site that were used in some form of "adult"
recreational activities.


Howard Beverly
GIS Analyst
Archaeologist
Wilbur Smith Associates
Lexington, Kentucky
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Neal
> Hitch
> Sent: Monday, July 31, 2000 9:59 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Marbels at Military Encampments
>
>
> A few months ago there was a thread on marbles and round shot with holes
> drilled through them. Am I remembering correctly that marbles have been
> found, in several cases, at military encampments and that the current
> interpretation is that soldiers could have been using them to
> play some type
> of game, possibly dealing with betting. Or is this way off the mark.
> Alternatively, should a collection of five marbles just be attributed to
> children out of hand. I don't need a full explanation of marbles, just a
> push in one direction or the other.
>
> Neal Hitch
> Ohio Historical Society
>