Wooden ball

The earliest games with balls are known from Egyptian drawings (around 1900 BC). These depict several groups of girls playing with balls. Archaeological evidence also exists from later periods in Greece and the Roman Empire, where balls were made from twisted palm leaves, clay, or strips of leather.

 

Archaeological finds, iconographic sources, and historical data from European old towns show that ball games were very popular in the Middle Ages. Research into these toys reveals that balls from the 13th to 17th centuries were used for individual training as well as for various group games: badminton, bowling, tennis, and even certain forms of football—thrown, rolled, pushed, kicked, or struck with a stick.

 

In Lithuania, balls have only been found during excavations at the Vilnius Lower Castle. Over the years of research, twenty-four leather ball parts or fragments and two intact wooden pellets have been uncovered. However, some spherical wooden fragments, usually classified among wooden rods with knobs (also known as ceremonial rods), may in fact be parts of wooden balls.

 

Although fewer wooden balls have been found compared to leather ones, it is likely that they were also popular in children’s games of the time.

The most representative and best-preserved wooden ball was found during excavations near the southern wing of the Royal Palace. This particular ball is about 7.7 cm in diameter and made from a pine burl—a part of the tree that is harder to work but more durable. The ball is not perfectly spherical, though a skilled craftsman back then could have made an ideally round object. It is possible that perfect roundness was unnecessary, as balls were used not only for rolling but also for striking and throwing in various games.

 

As mentioned, only a couple of wooden balls have been definitely identified in present-day Lithuania, although such wooden balls are quite commonly found in other countries. European old towns reveal both round and oval balls, with oval balls ranging from 1.3 to 9 cm in diameter, averaging 3.5–5 cm.

 

Balls were used not only in children’s games but also by adults. For example, in the Kaunas elder’s act book from 1550–1555, there is a record from December 20, 1551, mentioning Petras Butkevičius, who promises upon entering service with Mr. Simanas Šimtakapis: “not to drink beer, Lithuanian or German, nor wine, mead, or spirits for two years […] and also not to gamble cards, dice, balls, checkers, or any other shameful games.”

 

Wooden balls, like leather ones, were used in various games. One game may have involved players trying to push the ball into the opponent’s hole while protecting their own. It is also known that wooden balls were used in bowling, cricket, or similar outdoor games.