{"id":802,"date":"2024-10-23T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/osebergvikingarv.no\/eng\/?p=802"},"modified":"2025-07-07T16:17:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T14:17:58","slug":"a-fantastic-discovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osebergvikingarv.no\/eng\/2024\/10\/23\/a-fantastic-discovery\/","title":{"rendered":"A fantastic discovery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

79 beautifully carved chess pieces were discovered on the Scottish island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in 1831. Oseberg Viking Heritage offers quality replicas for sale.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Einar Chr. Erlingsen
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\"The
The Lewis chess pieces, likely made in Trondheim. (Photo: Nidaros Cathedral Restoration Works)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Most of the pieces are exhibited in the British Museum, where they are one of the \u201cgems\u201d in the museum\u2019s vast collections. The pieces are carved from walrus tusks, a significant trade commodity during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. The theory behind the discovery suggests that the pieces were likely hidden by a merchant of the time, possibly to conceal them from raiders. But for unknown reasons, the owner never returned.
Many have been fascinated by the Lewis chessmen, among them the author Roald Dahl, who wrote the text for a booklet telling the story of the discovery. We can also mention that in the first Harry Potter film, chess was played using these pieces.
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The century\u2019s value increase<\/strong>
The pieces undoubtedly had great value in their time and were probably intended for royal and noble clients. We know more about their value today!
In 1964, an antique dealer in Edinburgh purchased a piece that had gone astray. He paid \u00a35 for the piece, put it in a drawer \u2013 and forgot about it. The piece was rediscovered sometime in the 2000s when the dealer\u2019s estate was being settled. In 2019, it was sold at auction \u2013 for \u00a3735,000 \u2013 or just over NOK 10.3 million at today\u2019s exchange rate!
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\"The
The king from one of the chess sets. (Photo: Nidaros Cathedral Restoration Works)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Made in Norway<\/strong>
Recent research has concluded that the pieces were most likely made in Trondheim sometime in the mid-12th century. At that time, Trondheim was an important hub for trade with the northern regions\/the White Sea and Greenland, where there were large populations of walruses.
The style in which the pieces are carved also points to Norway. The style closely resembles the decorations of stave churches and the Romanesque sections of Nidaros Cathedral from that era. So, when the Nidaros Cathedral Restoration Works (NDR) in 2020 planned a themed exhibition on chess, it seemed fitting to carve an enlarged version of one of the pieces in soapstone.<\/p>\n\n\n\"en_GB\"\/<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

79 beautifully carved chess pieces were discovered on the Scottish island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in 1831. Oseberg Viking Heritage offers quality replicas for sale. By Einar Chr.… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-vikingshop"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t