Schälchenkreise in Xanthos

The paper examines a set of small circular arrangements of cup-marks (Schälchenkreise) found at Xanthos in Lycia, arguing that they are the remains of board games and tracing their origins and distribution. Seven circles sit on the visible upper surfaces of the second step of the so-called "sarcophagus pilier," a monument whose date the authors place plausibly in the Hellenistic period, with the circles no older than that. A larger, more deeply incised circle, bearing a psi-like figure, is carved into a block reused in the back wall of the theatre, which was rebuilt in the second half of the second century AD, giving the circles a possible window of more than 350 years. The authors catalogue the circles by number of cup-marks and arrangement, distinguishing three variants: ten marks around a central one, eleven marks in a circle or oval, and a combined form.

Comparable circles are reported from Karkamish, where paired examples occur on Neo-Hittite lion statue bases; from the Roman-period Temple of Artemis at Sardis, with twelve marks around two central ones; and from several Cretan sites, including a Hellenistic example at Dreros and others with a dividing line, one forming a psi-shape. The authors note these circles have Minoan antecedents, suggesting a Cretan origin, and they link the Cretan and Anatolian examples through shared design features such as the psi-shaped marking.

The evidence rests on field observation, photographs, and a review of published finds, with the authors noting that comparanda are scarce largely because such circles have received little scholarly attention. They conclude that the circles were probably used for a board game and that many more examples likely exist in Asia Minor but remain unrecorded.