A remarkable archaeological discovery has revealed more than 100 carved stone game boards inside the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Ptolemais, known today as Tolmeita in eastern Libya. The find sheds light on everyday leisure activities in the ancient settlement.
According to reports from “La Brújula Verde”, and a Polish archaeological mission led by Zofia Kowarska from the University of Warsaw, the game boards were documented after excavation work resumed in 2023 following a long interruption due to conditions in the country, as number of discoveries exceeded expectations, with many boards found clustered together, suggesting that games were a widespread activity in the city’s public spaces.
The boards are carved as small circular holes arranged in geometric patterns on stone blocks, walls, and columns. They appear in different grid formats such as 3×3 and 5×5, resembling ancient board games similar to tic-tac-toe, checkers, and mancala-style games.
