Hounds and jackals

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Hounds and Jackals: An Ancient Egyptian Board Game

Hounds and jackals, also known as Fifty-Eight Holes or The Hunt and Ibiya Game, is an ancient Egyptian board game that has been discovered in various excavations across Egypt, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and the Mediterranean region. The game was named by William Matthew Flinders Petrie due to its unique feature of having 58 holes on the gaming board.

The game consists of two sets of 29 holes, with ten small sticks serving as gaming pieces featuring the head of Ibiya or a hunting dog. Players would engage in a racing-like game where they would move their pieces through the holes, aiming to reach the finish line first. The game was played primarily during the Middle Kingdom period, around 2000 BC.

A significant discovery was made by Howard Carter in 1890, who found a complete set of games in the tomb of Pharaoh Amenemhat IV in Thebes. This find led to further excavations and discoveries of more than 60 models of the game across Egypt, Mesopotamia, Israel, Syria, Iran, Azerbaijan, and the Mediterranean region.

Archaeological studies suggest that the game was transmitted through trade from Egypt to central Anatolia around 1950 BC, before being introduced to Mesopotamia. In contrast, the game reached Nubia through conquest in 1980 BC, while its introduction to the Levant is still unknown. The sticks used for gaming were made of expensive materials such as ivory, silver, and gold.

Interestingly, similar games have been discovered across ancient civilizations, including Twenty Squares, Royal Game of Ur, or Senet. These findings highlight the significance of Hounds and Jackals in understanding the evolution of board games throughout history.

The complete set of this Egyptian game is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is referred to as "The Hunt and Ibiya Game". This ancient game not only provides insight into the culture and traditions of ancient Egypt but also showcases its rich heritage in the world of board games.