ABSTRACT
The Lewis Chessmen are widely recognized to be amongst the most appealing pieces of early medieval sculpture that survive. The chess pieces are generally referred to as being made from Walrus ivory, with a few possibly of whale tooth. A characteristic of walrus ivory is that the main bulk of the tusk consists of dentine that is clearly divided into two forms: the outermost primary dentine, which is smooth and uniform, and an inner secondary dentine that has a granular ‘oatmeal-’like structure. Visual and microscopic examination of the surface shows evidence firstly of toolmarks as quite coarse grooves, presumed to be from fine chisels with slightly damaged cutting edges. In bone, the damage caused by roots is reported as leading to tunnelling as well as surface damage, presumably because of the more porous nature of the bone surface compared to ivory.
