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Crossing the Wolfsschlucht (wolve’s gorge) one reaches the impressive outlook on the Hockstein. During the middle ages a castle was situated on this outcrop. Its garrison must have been terribly bored since they whiled away time playing nine men’s morris. They marked out the board on the rock, its lines are still visible today.
The ages of nine men’s morris is unknown; the oldest plan for this game was discovered on a roof tile from the ancient Egyptian temple at Kurna and dates to around 1400 BCE. Later the Romans traced the plan into the stone pavement of public places. It even can be found in Aix-en-chapelle; in the palatinate chapel it is engraved into the marble slabs of the throne which were brought from Jerusalem.