Roman dodecahedron, Chinese puzzle balls and Rubik's Cube?

Time for Provocative Mnemonic Aids to Systemic Connectivity? (Part #2)

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One provocation derives from the mysterious function of the so-called Roman dodecahedron. This is a small hollow object made of bronze or stone (4-11 centimeters in diameter). Of dodecahedral form, it has twelve flat pentagonal faces, each face having a circular hole of varying diameter in the middle, the holes connecting to the hollow center. Over a hundred of these have been found across Europe, dating from the 2nd or 3rd centuries AD.

They have evoked speculation of every kind as to their function -- with no conclusion. They can be usefully compared with carved stones balls (petrospheres) dating from the Neolithic period, and with the Chinese carved ivory puzzle balls (Rotation and pumping of nested Chinese "puzzle balls" as symbolizing "worlds-within-worlds", 2015).

Roman dodecahedron	Chinese ivory puzzle ball	Neolithic carved stone ball
By Lokilech [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5 ], from Wikimedia Commons	British Museum [CC BY 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons	National Museums of Scotland, via Wikimedia Commons

The absence of any explanatory closure would seem to give the form a similarly intriguing status to the many 12-fold sets of unrelated concepts -- and therefore to constitute a suitably tangible catalyst for reflection on systemic connectivity. How is the relation of the "headless hearts" to the "heartless heads" to be understood otherwise -- reframing the strident polarization noted in the earlier argument?

In that spirit it could be speculated that the Roman dodecahedron had a function analogous to Rubik's Cube -- as a hand-held puzzle inviting engagement. Separately the use of such a cube or its variants was explored as a means of reconciling systemically the UN's sets of goals (Interplay of Sustainable Development Goals through Rubik Cube Variations: engaging otherwise with what people find meaningful, 2017). One of its many variants, the Megamix, is of dodecahedral form; the Rubik 360 is spherical. Note also the comparison: Chinese Puzzle Balls: the Rubik's Cube of the Ancient World (2012)

Aside from the many other speculations as to the use of such a device, Roman culture was necessarily especially familiar with both the 12-fold pattern of the Zodiac and the 12-fold pattern of the Dii Consentes, possibly arranged in the form of a banquet of the gods in gender balanced pairs (Lectisternium). Clearly a deity could be associated with each face of the dodecahedron (as a form of Denkmodell).

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