Lewis Chessman

This scan is of a replica night from the Lewis Chessmen, a set of 93 gaming pieces found on the Isle of Lewis in 1831. The chess pieces are carved from walrus ivory and whale’s teeth and are thought to be Scandinavian in origin. Some are held in the British Museum and some in the National Museum of Scotland.

The knight wears clothes which date to the 12th or 13th century. His coat is split at the front and back and he holds a kite-shaped shield, a lance and wears a conical helmet.

This replica was scanned as part of a benchmarking exercise undertaken at Wessex Archaeology to test and demonstrate the value of multi-image photogrammetry for accurate recording of small artefacts. The model was generated from 60 photographs and has sub-millimetre accuracy.