Today in History—April 11: A Mysterious Medieval Chess Set

On this day in 1831, nearly 80 medieval-era Norse chess pieces went on exhibition at Edinburgh’s Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Carved from walrus tusk ivory and whale teeth, the striking pieces—with idiosyncratic expressions and detailed vestments and armaments—inspired more questions than they answered, but they were immediately adored.

No one knew where the pieces came from or how and when they’d traveled to Scotland. Details of who found them and where were also vague, with one popular story featuring a hungry cow riotously disturbing the earth to reveal a ceramic container.

It’s generally held that the hoard was found in a sand bank on the west side of the Isle of Lewis, part of the Outer Hebrides. Along with 78 chess pieces were 14 discs, the type used in checkers, and one belt buckle. The pieces had been in that container a long, long time, based on grooves in their surface thought to have been caused by burrowing worms.

Enough pieces to make nearly four full chess sets were found, each a slightly different style, indicating they were likely carved from the same pattern by different hands. Traces of mercury on some suggest that, to distinguish players, some might have once been colored red.

The most likely theory is they’re Norwegian, from the late 12th or early 13th centuries, according to a British Museum manuscript keeper (and chess fanatic) who pegged the date to the debut of a specific hat worn by the bishops in the set. Other details also matched those in medieval Norwegian churches, and a fragment of a queen in a similar style was found in Trondheim. At the time these pieces were carved, the Hebrides belonged to Norway.

No one knows how the treasure ended up buried. It’s possible the pieces were stashed by a shipwrecked merchant, passing through en route to Scotland or Ireland. It’s equally possible they belonged to a local prince on Lewis.

They no longer make their home on the island. After that first show, the pieces were sold. They changed hands several times over the next few decades, until they were finally donated to the British Museum and the Scottish National Museum, where they still reside—after quite the journey.