Roman dodecahedron replica removed from eBay after complaint

BBC News

02-04-2025

A replica of a Roman dodecahedron has been removed from an internet auction site after the man who discovered the original claimed it was "misleading".Richard Parker, from the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group which found the artefact near Lincoln in 2023, complained to eBay after he was "shocked" to spot a copy of the object for sale on their site using his images.The seller, from America, said he meant "no discourtesy or disrespect" to the archaeology group.The listing has since been taken down. In a statement, eBay said: "We have multiple protections in place to ensure intellectual property owners' rights are respected."
The listing advertised a "museum grade replica" with a guide price of approximately $260 (£200) and included photographs belonging to the history group."The fact that no one had even sought permission to reuse our photographs is really galling," Mr Parker said.The real dodecahedron, which has baffled experts as to its use, is one of only 33 dodecahedrons found in Britain, and the first to have been discovered in the Midlands.It can often be found on display in museums and Mr Parker said the history group had put a "lot of effort" in to ensure it was "in the public domain".
Mr Parker said the group had not commercially benefited from the artefact and relied on donations to continue to operate."Somebody is riding off the back of our hard graft," he said."It is terrible."The accuracy of the replica was also criticised by Mr Parker."The guy that's done this has never seen the dodecahedron in person, he's never examined it," he said."They've made a best guess."Staff at Lincoln Museum, where the object had been displayed in 2024, said more than 15,000 people came to see it.
'Not illegal'
The seller said he enjoyed making and hand-painting plastic replicas of archaeological finds in his spare time."I've had it displayed on my table for a few months. I thought someone else might enjoy it, so I listed it for about what it cost me to make," he said."No one bought it, but it's still pretty, and I'm proud of it."If the crew would be willing, I can send my replica to them. It would be exciting to have the actual team tell me what I got right and what I got wrong with my hand-painting."According to Dr Lacey Wallace, a senior lecturer in Roman history and material culture at The University of Lincoln, producing a replica of an object is not illegal, unless it is falsely claimed the replica is real.Dr Wallace said the copy of the dodecahedron was not pretending to be real and believed the production of replicas can be beneficial for educational purposes."Museum professionals, lecturers and researches all really value replicas," she added.In a statement, eBay added: "Intellectual property owners can report listings that may infringe their rights through our VeRO Programme."We will then investigate and take the appropriate action, which may include ending listings and suspending seller accounts."Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.