Gaming in the Maghreb al-Aqsa: new evidence from Idrisid Walīla (Volubilis)

Penn, T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4472-9031, Fenwick, C. and Limane, H. (2026) Gaming in the Maghreb al-Aqsa: new evidence from Idrisid Walīla (Volubilis). Libyan Studies. ISSN 0263-7189 doi: 10.1017/lis.2025.10033

Abstract/Summary

Boardgames appear frequently in early medieval Arabic literature, reflecting their embeddedness in everyday life and social discourse. Despite abundant textual and material evidence, the archaeology of games in Islamic contexts remains understudied, in part because securely dated carved gameboards are rare. This article addresses that gap by presenting a previously unpublished gameboard in the medieval hammam at Walīla (Roman Volubilis), Morocco. The bathhouse was constructed in the late eight/ninth century and abandoned by the tenth or eleventh century, offering a rare secure context for the board’s date. The board’s design suggests it was used to play tāb/sig, making it the earliest known evidence for this game in North Africa. This case study illuminates how gaming intersected with communal life and public space in early medieval North Africa.