Moves to unite historic chessmen
First Minister Alex Salmond has joined calls for the return of the Lewis chessmen to Scotland.
SNP members have been campaigning to bring the famed 13th Century figurines back to the country where they were discovered.
The beautifully carved game pieces were found on a beach near Uig on the isle of Lewis in about 1831.
Many of the original 93 chess pieces are currently on show at the British Museum in London.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, Annie MacDonald, an SNP councillor on Lewis, said it was time that the pieces were returned.
Source: BBC News
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
The pieces should be returned to Scotland.
I don’t get it. Why should they be returned? They were found on a beach. It isn’t as if they were stolen during a time of war or anything.
If the argument is that they “belong” to Scotland by virtue of the fact that they are part of Scotland’s heritage, then I can think of a lot of stuff in the British museum or most museums that “belong” to some other heritage.
Looks like a Norwegian tourist lost them on the beach – maybe they should go back to Norway in that case.
lsur