In my mind, a better explanation is that they were templates for personally fitted non-metal gloves. The template could be given to a knitter to receive exactly fitting gloves each time. Metal chain would have been difficult to detach from the template, but knit natural yarn would have stretched.
Of course, the end products would not have survived to our time.
This theory explains many things about the object:
- the dodecahedrons have been found all around Europe, but particularly in the north
- they are not in one standard size
- the hole sizings are a good match for fingers
- the same template can be used for both left and right hands, leaving one set of holes for some sort of stick to stand on
Gloves would have been very important clothing items in the northern parts of the empire, and in military use, they would have fallen apart quickly, necessitating their replacement from local sources.
Fingered leather gloves would have been prohibitively expensive if they were available at all, and fur gloves would not have been nimble enough for handling a sword and a shield, or for any other task requiring finger dexterity.
Since they would have been personal items, soldiers would have carried them wherever they were stationed, and kept them after their military careers. This would explain why they were also found in temperate and warm parts of the empire.
Of course, the end products would not have survived to our time.
This theory explains many things about the object:
- the dodecahedrons have been found all around Europe, but particularly in the north
- they are not in one standard size
- the hole sizings are a good match for fingers
- the same template can be used for both left and right hands, leaving one set of holes for some sort of stick to stand on
Gloves would have been very important clothing items in the northern parts of the empire, and in military use, they would have fallen apart quickly, necessitating their replacement from local sources.
Fingered leather gloves would have been prohibitively expensive if they were available at all, and fur gloves would not have been nimble enough for handling a sword and a shield, or for any other task requiring finger dexterity.
Since they would have been personal items, soldiers would have carried them wherever they were stationed, and kept them after their military careers. This would explain why they were also found in temperate and warm parts of the empire.