Discovery of Lewis chessmen

The Lewis chessmen are a group of carved 12th-century chess pieces found on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. They are made mainly of walrus ivory, with some whale teeth, and include kings, queens, bishops, knights, warders and pawns. They were probably made in Norway, perhaps in Trondheim, at a time when the Hebrides were part of the Norse kingdom. The pieces were buried in a sand bank at Uig Bay and found in the early 19th century, and they are now divided between the British Museum in London and the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Their expressive faces, including a biting shield-warder, have made them among the best-known objects of medieval Europe.

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