WALLINGFORD, ENGLAND—A tiny chess piece that may have been part of a traveling set has been unearthed in the backyard at Wallingford Museum, located in southeast England. “It is one of only about 50 medieval chess pieces found in England and, at only 21.7 mm [about .8 of an inch] high, it is unique in being the smallest medieval Arabic chess piece known in the country,” museum curator Judy Dewey told The Oxford Times. The gaming piece, a bishop, is thought to have been carved from the tip of an antler in the twelfth or thirteenth century and is decorated with traditional roundels. The piece was found near Wallingford Priory, so the set may have been lost by a wealthy traveler who had been lodging there. “Wallingford had an important Royal Castle close by and occasionally visitors were housed in the Priory—even the monks may have played chess,” Dewey said. To read more about chess and chess pieces in medieval Britian, go to "Artifact."
