the set was excavated at 28–32 commercial road, gloucester, the site of a norman castle. one hundred and fifty pieces of carved bone were found at the bottom of a late-11th-century rubbish pit. these comprised a full set of 30 gaming pieces, and fragments of the board. some fragments are missing, and there is evidence of deliberate damage in four places. this suggests that the set was deliberately broken up elsewhere, and dumped in the pit. archaeological evidence suggests that this happened c. 1070-1120, with study of the artistic characteristics of the set indicating a date of around 1100.