Lewis chess pieces return to islands
sixteen years since historic collection was in lewis
Published: 16/04/2011

Some of the famous Lewis chessmen returned to their “home” and went on display yesterday.

The summer-long event at Museum nan Eilean, Stornoway follows a tour of Scotland which covered Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Shetland.

Museum staff were rushed off their feet with some 200 people attending the exhibition on its first day, about eight times the visitors they had on the same day last year.

They included schoolchildren, tourists and people attending the Celtic Media Festival.It’s been 16 years since the walrus ivory pieces were seen on the island.

The hoard of valuable Viking treasures were found in a small glen by the beach at Ardroil on the west coast of Lewis in 1831.

But the National Museum of Scotland claims that islanders have it wrong and that the treasure trove was actually discovered at Mealista, a few miles away. At the official launch of their arrival on Lewis, researcher Dr David Caldwell, who wrote a book to accompany the tour, said: “The earliest evidence we have is about a Roderick Pirie in Stornoway trying to sell them.

“His story was they were found in an underground chamber at Mealista.”

Source: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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