13 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

500-year-old board game discovered carved into a stone slab in a Polish castle

A board game carved into stone was discovered by archaeologists investigating the castle at Ćmielów in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in Poland. The board game was probably created in the 16th century.

Carved into a sandstone floor slab by the castle’s original builders, the game was discovered by archaeologist Tomasz Olszacki.

The board game is located on a damaged sandstone slab, measuring approximately 32 cm and its thickness varies from 6 to 12 cm. The playing field itself measures approximately 13.5 cm.

Olszacki told National Geographic Polska that the game could have been carved by construction workers seeking to gamble their earnings in their spare time. According to Olszacki, though, the game could just have easily been carved in later years by children or servants.

Although its exact origins are unknown, it appears certain that the game itself was called Mill, a strategy board game with ancient origins – aside from being enjoyed by the Romans, Confucius is also thought to have been a player. Contested between two players, it was also known as Nine Men’s Morris, Merels, and Ninepenny Marl.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Image credit: Tomasz Olszacki

Similar “boards” are known mainly from medieval England. They were also carved in castles in Italy and in Crusader castles. It is not clear whether these types of boards were actually used for games or whether they carried a symbolic, perhaps magical message.

Olszacki pointed to a similar discovery from the 13th-century Opole parish church. Images of a game board are also known from stove tiles from Greater Poland, dating back to the second half of the 15th century.

It seems certain that the game itself was called Mill, a strategy board game that is thought to have ancient origins.Image Credit: Tomasz Olszacki
It seems certain that the game itself was called Mill, a strategy board game that is thought to have ancient origins.Image Credit: Tomasz Olszacki

Olszacki’s discovery is the latest chapter in the castle’s story. It was built between 1519 and 1531 on the orders of local nobleman Krzysztof Szydowiecki and was captured during the Swedish Deluge, after which it changed hands several times. By 1800, much of it had been converted into a brewery before being repurposed as a bathhouse in 1905, and then as a German military hospital in 1944. Privately bought in 2009, it slid into decline before being repurchased in 2022 by a businessman from Gdańsk.

The castle’s interior, which had long since resembled little more than a ruin, has, however, recently come under new archaeological scrutiny. It was the results of this ongoing investigation that led to the extraordinary discovery of the board game.

Related Articles

Scientists have discovered an ancient cemetery of flying reptiles roaming the Atacama desert of Chile 100 million years ago

7 April 2022

7 April 2022

In Chile, an unusual cemetery has been discovered that contains the well-preserved remains of prehistoric flying reptiles that flew over...

Archaeologists in Israel are restoring the largest Roman Basilica in the country

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Archaeologists in Israel are trying to rebuild a 2,000-year-old Roman-era basilica that is thought to be the country’s biggest. A...

A new study reveals, Anglo-Saxon Kings were generally vegetarian, but peasants treated them to huge meat feasts

22 April 2022

22 April 2022

Very few people in England ate large amounts of meat before the Vikings settled, and there is no evidence that...

An unexpected shipwreck was unearthed at the Tallinn construction site

18 April 2022

18 April 2022

During the construction of the office building on Lootsi Street in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital on the Baltic Sea, a shipwreck...

Scenes of Warriors from 6th Century BC on a Slate Plaque Discovered at Tartessian Site in Spain

6 June 2024

6 June 2024

Archaeologists representing Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC) excavating at the archaeological site of Casas del Turunuelo have uncovered a slate...

Archaeologists Find One of the Long-Lost Holy Cities in Jordan

13 July 2025

13 July 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery in Jordan has brought one of the Holy Land’s long-lost cities back to light. Researchers now...

Archaeologists Found 1,600-year-old Burials of Noble Women and Gold Jewelry in the Mountains of Crimea

4 December 2024

4 December 2024

Archaeologists found burials of noble women filled with gold and silver jewelry in the Crimean mountains in the Bakhchisaray region...

Europe’s Oldest Boomerang: A 40,000-Year-Old Mammoth Ivory Artifact Discovered in Poland

27 June 2025

27 June 2025

An international team of scientists has uncovered the oldest known boomerang in Europe, a 72-centimeter tool meticulously carved from mammoth...

The excavations in Selinunte, Italy, which has the largest Agora in the Ancient World, “The results have gone well beyond expectations”

29 July 2022

29 July 2022

In the Selinunte, one of the most important archaeological sites of the Greek period in Italy, the outlines of the...

A 3,600-Year-Old Bronze Minoan Dagger Discovered in Antalya Underwater Excavation

29 August 2024

29 August 2024

A bronze dagger with silver rivets that dates to the Minoan civilization approximately 3,600 years ago was discovered during an...

148 Ancient Tombs Spanning 2,100 Years Unearthed in the Construction Area of the Zoo

18 August 2024

18 August 2024

An ancient burial site with 148 tombs,  spanning over 2,100 years, has been discovered on the construction site of the...

2500-year-old ship graffiti sheds light on the history of Izmir in western Turkey

9 March 2022

9 March 2022

In the Smyrna Agora, which is one of the largest ancient agora in the city center of the world and...

Tens of Thousands of Ancient Bronze Coins Dating from the 4th Century Discovered Off Sardinia

4 November 2023

4 November 2023 1

A diver spotted something metallic at the bottom of the sea off the town of Arzachena in the Sassari province...

Colossae Ancient City Excavation Works Begin

8 September 2021

8 September 2021

Excavations of the ancient city of Colossae, located in the Honaz district of Denizli province in western Turkey, are starting...

A first in 35 years! Child grave with bracelets and gifts found in ancient city of Kelenderis

25 June 2022

25 June 2022

During this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Kelenderis, founded on the Mediterranean coast in the southern province of...