The playful deer

European archaeology testifies a proliferation of carved gaming counters for tabula type of games during the 10th to 12th centuries. The most famous of such finds is a complete set of counters from Gloucester, but there are countless more separate finds as from the South, so from the North.

Some examples of carved gaming counters from France, Germany and British isles in the popular magazine ''Histoire et Images Médiévales '' No. 28 (2012).

One lovely, but lesser known example comes from Daugmale hillfort in Latvia. It tells a story of an artifact that was created for gaming, but at some point continued its career as a pendant in this bustling trading post at the river Daugava.

See few more pictures of our playful deer here.