Editing Lewis chessmen (section)

== Discovery ==
The chessmen were discovered in early 1831 in a [[shoal|sandbank]] at the head of Uig Bay on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. There are various local stories concerning their arrival and modern discovery on Lewis.

Malcolm "Sprot" MacLeod ({{langx|gd|Calum an Sprot}}) from the nearby [[Ardroil|township of Pennydonald]] discovered the trove in a small stone [[cist|kist]] in a dune, exhibited them briefly in his [[barn|byre]] and sold them on to Captain Roderick Ryrie.<ref name=Burnett-2008-02-03/> One reported detail, that a cow actually unearthed the stash, is generally discounted in [[Uig, Lewis|Uig]] as fabrication. After the Isle of Lewis was purchased by [[James Matheson|J. Matheson]] in 1844, Malcolm MacLeod and his family were evicted during the [[Highland Clearances]] which transformed the area into sheep farms.

When the chessmen were uncovered in 1831, 1&nbsp;knight and 4&nbsp;warders were missing from the four sets.<ref name=BBC-2019-06-48494885/> In June&nbsp;2019 a warder piece, which had previously gone unrecognised for at least 55&nbsp;years, emerged in Edinburgh,<ref name=BBC-2019-06-48494885>{{cite news |title=Long-lost Lewis chessman found in Edinburgh family's drawer |work=[[BBC News]] |date=3 June 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-48494885 |access-date=3 June 2019}}</ref> and was purchased at a [[Sotheby's]] auction for £735,000 the following month, by an undisclosed buyer.<ref name=BBC-2019-07-48824712/>