The knucklebone or astragalus is an ubiquitous and extremely popular game piece in the ancient Mediterranean world (Egypt, Greece, and Rome). It was used as a randomizing device in the Egyptian boardgame of senet and as a game piece among Greek and Roman juveniles. Although it was primarily used as a game piece, the act of throwing it as a die connected it with divination. Also, even though they were mostly made of bone, they were considered valuable personal possessions, so they were found in tombs and sanctuaries, sometimes in surprising quantities. For example, some Classical tombs from Locri (Southern Italy), contained more than 1000 knucklebones, so the archaeologist Roland Hampe has called the Locrian attitude an 'Astragalomanie', an obsession for knucklebones.

It is hard to find a definitive answer to why people in the ancient world were so interested in knucklebones, but in this online presentation, Dr Ada Nifosi (Lecturer in Ancient History; University of Kent) will show some examples of their variety of uses in different contexts.