Lewis chessmen must stay in British Museum, minister says
Published Date: 11 March 2010
By David Maddox
A PROPOSAL to create a wing of the British Museum on the Isle of Lewis to house the famous chess pieces found there was yesterday rejected by the UK government.
Western Isles Nationalist MP Angus MacNeil put forward the idea as a compromise solution to allow the 78 12th century Lewis chessmen to go home.
He called the debate in Westminster Hall in the Commons yesterday just ahead of a tour by some of the chess pieces from the British Museum around Scotland including to Lewis.
He said the tour provided an ideal opportunity to open discussions on returning the pieces to the island full time.
The debate also saw calls from other MPs for the return of historic items to Staffordshire, Suffolk and Wales. But culture minister Margaret Hodge said: “I disagree with the premise that items can only be appreciated in their national setting.”
Source: http://news.scotsman.com
That sucks. It should go back to Norway.
Typical British attitude: take what is not theirs.
This is where America got its attitude as well…
Back to Norway? Ridiculous. Guess you’re joking.
The pieces were found in the ground, how they got there is a mystery, but it’s very likely that it happened shortly after they were made.
There is no reason why they should be returned to Trondheim, where it’s likely they were made. For all we know, they were sold to a merchant, who was going to sell them in the isles – or even brought there by one.
Their condition is such that it’s very unlikely they were ever used, which supports the notion that they were for sale.
This is very different from situations where an archeologist or historian appropriates items from a culture, and brings them to his own. (Such as the Elgin marbles.)
No – they shouldn’t go to Norway. But they shouldn’t be in the British Museum, either. They belong in Scotland.
A spokeswoman said: “It is generally accepted that the chessmen were made in Norway, during this period the Western Isles, where the chessmen were buried, were part of the kingdom of Norway not Scotland.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8559305.stm