Doubt on age of the Lewis Chess Set

The Chess pieces – currently in museums in Scotland and England– were discovered on Lewis in 1831.

But the research suggests they may have been used in both chess and Hnefatafl – a similar game to chess that was popular in medieval Scandinavia.

It also casts doubt on the traditional theory that the ivory chess pieces were lost or buried by a merchant.

The research was led by Dr Caldwell of the National Museum of Scotland believes the Lewis chess men from the Chess Set may have belonged to a high-ranking chess playerliving on Lewis.

For the first time, they also tried to work out which pieces were made by the same groups of craftsmen by measuring the chessmen’s faces by studying details of the workmanship.

He said that the analysis tried to recognise the work of different craftsmen on pieces which may be replacements for ones which had been broken or lost.

Dr Caldwell said the chessmen from the Set suggested that there was a reasonable amount of wealth in the western Isles in the 13th century, perhaps because the medieval economy placed greater value on fairly barren land that could be used to raise cattle.

Despite the extensive research, Dr Caldwell said he still believed there was plenty of mystery surrounding the chessmen.

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