Greek City Became a Playground: Over 100 Game Boards Found in Ptolemais

Residents of Tolmeita, dressed in traditional costumes, play a game on the walls within the Cistern Square in Ptolemais

April

/ 2026

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In the ruins of Ptolemais, one of antiquity’s largest Greek cities in present-day Libya, archaeologists have unearthed a captivating discovery. Researchers from the University of Warsaw have documented over 100 stone-carved ancient game boards etched into the abandoned city. This find offers an intimate glimpse into how people passed their time long after the metropolis had fallen.

The discovery, spearheaded by archaeologist Zofia Kowarska, is reshaping our understanding of everyday life in post-classical antiquity. These simple grids, carved directly into limestone blocks and ancient walls, highlight the quiet routines of local populations who repurposed the decaying Greco-Roman architecture for their own leisure reports Science in Poland.

Game board carved into a stone block found in the eastern part of the city.

Game board carved into a stone block found in the eastern part of the city. (Zofia Kowarska/PAP)

A City Reborn as a Pastoral Playground

Founded in the late 4th century BC under Hellenistic Egyptian kings, Ptolemais grew into a massive urban center. Following the Arab conquest in the 7th century AD, the city was abandoned. Modern excavations by the Polish archaeological mission resumed in 2023, and Kowarska began a systematic inventory of the engraved ancient game boards scattered across the site.

Initially expecting to find only a handful of examples, Kowarska was astounded when the count quickly exceeded 100.

"The boards carved in the ruins suggest that these games were a fairly common pastime," Kowarska explained.

nother of the game boards found in the ancient city

Another of the game boards found in the ancient city. (Zofia Kowarska/PAP)

The ancient game boards themselves are deceptively simple, consisting of small, circular depressions arranged in square or rectangular grids. The most basic layouts feature a three-by-three grid, while more complex versions expand to seven-by-seven squares.

Shepherds, Stones, and Shared Gaming Cultures

Dating these playful inscriptions presents a challenge. However, researchers agree that the ancient game boards were carved after the city had lost its original function. This transforms Ptolemais into a landscape of reuse.

Archaeologists hypothesize that the primary users of these boards were local shepherds. The ruins of Ptolemais are surrounded by vast lands ideal for grazing. The boards are frequently found on elevated sections of ruins, offering clear vantage points. Here, while their animals grazed, shepherds waited, watched, and played.

Game board carved into a stone block found in the eastern part of the city. (Zofia Kowarska/PAP)

The patterns carved into the stone resonate with gaming traditions found across North Africa and the Middle East. Some variations closely resemble mancala, a widely distributed family of strategy games. Other formats mirror the logic of tic-tac-toe or checkers.

Living Memory in Modern Tolmeita

Today, the modern town of Tolmeita sits near the ancient ruins. While the original games have largely faded from memory, oral traditions persist. An elderly local resident described two surviving game types to Kowarska: one played on a nine-square grid aiming to align pieces, and another focused on capturing the opponent's pawns. The game pieces were never standardized; players used stones, pottery fragments, seeds, or even plastic caps.

These simple grids provide a profound reminder that history is not solely written in grand monuments, but also scratched into stone by those who had time to spare among the ruins of the past.

Top image: This is what shepherds playing siza might have looked like in the past; residents of Tolmeita, dressed in traditional costumes, play a game on the walls within the Cistern Square in Ptolemais. Source: Piotr Jaworski/PAP

By Gary Manners