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Archaeologists have unearthed a wooden bread peel dating to the 11th century at the Pyatnitsky site in Staraya Russa, Russia. On the back of this medieval kitchen tool, a game board has been engraved. According to the team at the Archaeological Research Centre of Novgorod State University, reported by Live Science, bakers of the period could fill their waiting time while the bread baked.
A bread peel with a dual use
The fragment found belongs to a large wooden peel, a tool used to slide bread into the oven. Sergey Toropov, director of the Archaeological Research Centre of Novgorod State University, describes the object as a bread peel likely used to bake bread in the oven. The reverse bears three engraved squares, nested within one another.
This type of object is known to today's home bakers as a wooden bread peel, pizza paddle or pizza peel. The surviving part measures about 30 by 40 centimetres and was probably carved from oak. One face is flat, suited to baking, while the other carries the game board.
Merels, an ancient game of strategy
Merels, also called nine men's morris or mills, is a two-player game whose origin remains unknown. Historical and archaeological evidence suggests that a comparable game was played by the Romans two millennia ago, and it may be older still.
In the Middle Ages, merels spread across Europe and Asia, likely because it requires little equipment and can be set up in moments. The board has three nested squares linked by horizontal and vertical lines, and each player has nine pieces of the same colour.
The rules: between noughts and crosses and draughts
The aim is to line up one's pieces in rows of three along the lines. When a player completes a row, they may remove an opponent's piece of their choice. The game thus combines the logic of noughts and crosses with the capture mechanism of draughts.
The game ends when an opponent has only two pieces left or is completely blocked. This mechanism made merels accessible to everyone, without sophisticated equipment.
Games engraved into everyday medieval life
According to Sergey Toropov, boards specially designed for merels may have existed in antiquity, but game boards scratched or engraved onto the flat surfaces of household objects are found more often. Players could use small pebbles as pieces.
Merels boards and pieces have already been found at 9th-century sites in the Rus' realm, whose ancestors were Vikings who arrived on present-day Russian territory in the 8th century. However, an object as well preserved as the one from Staraya Russa is practically unique.
A discovery to be set in context
Staraya Russa, a medieval town located between Moscow and Saint Petersburg, has already yielded remarkable remains. The same site was, the previous month, the subject of the presentation of a snake-shaped amulet.
Archaeologists cannot say with certainty whether the peel was used for both purposes at the same time, or whether it was reused as a board after breaking and losing its original usefulness. This uncertainty adds to the object's interest for the study of everyday life in the Middle Ages.
Frequently asked questions
What is a medieval bread peel?
It is a large wooden tool, often made of oak, used to slide bread into and out of an oven. It is also called a pizza peel or pizza paddle. Its flat surface allowed loaves to be moved without damaging them.
How was merels played?
Each player has nine pieces and tries to line them up in rows of three on a board of three nested squares. They can then remove an opponent's piece. The game is won when the opponent has only two pieces left or can no longer move.
Where was the engraved bread peel discovered?
It was found at the Pyatnitsky archaeological site in central Staraya Russa, a medieval town located between Moscow and Saint Petersburg, in Russia.
Is the merels game very old?
Its origin is unknown, but clues suggest that a similar game was played by the Romans about two thousand years ago. It spread widely across Europe and Asia during the Middle Ages.
Sources
Original summary written with the help of artificial intelligence from the sources cited, checked automatically, then translated from the French original. Information and quotations belong to their authors. Read the French original.
