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Showing posts with the label Uig Chessman

Scotland autumn 2016, trip down to Harris

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We intended getting to Harris by the end of the day, but we were determined that our trip out from the Uig peninsula should be as interesting as possible. At Camas Uig we stopped the van next to a large wooden replica of one of the Lewis chessman. This Viking chess set was found in a small stone chamber at the top of the beach in 1831. The pieces, which had been carved from walrus teeth, are thought to have been made in the 12th century, during the period when the Vikings ruled Scotland. The set is in the British Museum, not a popular place for exhibition with the Scots. We walked down to the dunes on the beach, presumably it was this shifting sand that had disclosed the treasure. Retracing our steps to the main road we came across a little stream and waterfall which I stopped to photograph from a slightly precarious position balanced on the rocks at the side. As you can see the weather was quite dark, although not actually raining and we made a spurt to r