Three Knuckle bone Gaming Pieces

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The term "knuckle bone" designates the astragalus, a small bone found within the tarsal joint of hooved animals. It was used as a randomizing device because it has four long sides on which it could land when cast, with the numerical value assigned to the side facing up. Imitations of astragalus bones were also made from wood, clay, ivory, stone, and metal. In Egypt, these are better attested from the 17th Dynasty on, which is likely related to the introduction of the game of twenty squares. Egyptians adopted astragali to play senet, and these are the only casting devices represented in New Kingdom playing scenes.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art