Baking bread was fun: a shovel with a game board on the back was found in Novgorod.

Archaeologists in Veliky Novgorod have discovered an 11th-century oak bread shovel with markings on the back for the game "Mill." This game was popular in both medieval Europe and Rus'.

During excavations Veliky Novgorod Archeologists found unusual An 11th-century oak bread shovel: on its reverse side, a medieval baker carved markings for the popular game "Mill," which was widespread both in medieval Europe and in Rus'.

The game was played on a grid of three concentric squares connected by perpendicular lines and nine wooden or stone counters - hence another name of the game"Nine Dancing Men." The rules were simple: players had to build a row of three pieces (a windmill) and earn the right to remove any of their opponent's pieces from the board. The loser was the one who couldn't build any more windmills.

Imagine: bread is baking in the oven, and the bakers have turned over the shovel and are passing the time playing with its oak back – they’ve probably burned more than one loaf in their excitement.