Loony Dook

Becky greets the new year on the most beautiful beach I've ever seen; Uig Bay, Lewis, where in 1831 a local man named Malcolm McLeod found 78 chess pieces carved from walrus ivory and whale teeth. Alternately glum, worried-looking, squat and occasionally biting their shields with bulging eyes, the chessmen are believed to be from the 12th century and probably from Norway. Apparently this is a hot topic- thanks wikipedia:

"The Icelandic hypothesis has been thoroughly criticized by chess historian Morten Lilleøren, who has written two articles on the subject, "The Lewis Chessmen Were Never Anywhere Near Iceland!" and "The Lewis Chessmen on a Fantasy Iceland".