[MSN] British Museum is refusing to return the Lewis chessmen to the place where they were found on the island

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Chessmen should be returned to Lewis

I was appalled by James Morgan's story (December 24) that the British Museum
is refusing to return the Lewis chessmen to the place where they were found
on the island. Several months ago I visited the Romano-Germanic Central
Museum in Mainz in Germany. The museum enjoys an international reputation
which easily equals the British Museum in London. It displays objects such
as those found on the South Tyrolean Iceman and restored relics discovered
in a Peruvian royal grave.

A considerable number of the museum's displays are beautifully-constructed
copies of the originals. The impact on visitors is exactly the same as it
would have been had they been the originals. I suppose it would be
reasonable to say that the only difference between the Romano-Germanic
Central Museum in Mainz and the British Museum in London is that the former
is not grievously infected with cultural imperialism.

The Lewis chessmen should be returned to where they came from and replicas
of the whole set constructed for as many museums as want them. That is the
policy of most civilised museums throughout the world.

Alan Clayton, Westfield, Letters Way, Strathlachlan, Argyll.

I was delighted to see the Scottish Government's intention to launch a
campaign to repatriate the Lewis Chessmen.

Last month, Alex Salmond called for Scotland's treasures never to be hidden
again and to be "treasured and celebrated" as the 500th anniversary of the
Sword of State, presented to King James IV by Julius II, was commemorated.
It is good to see these words now being put into action and the proposed
campaign for the return of the twelfth-century Lewis Chessmen, held by the
British Museum in London, to their native Western Isles.

The pieces, crafted from walrus ivory and whales' teeth, were unearthed in
1831. Of the 93 chessmen, 11 are in Edinburgh's National Museum of Scotland
and 82 are in the British Museum.

It is simply not good enough that they are occasionally loaned back to the
Western Isles, and ownership of the collection should pass to the people of
these isles, where they were found, and where they should be put on
permanent display, housed and looked after by the people of Lewis. The
islanders should then decide who to loan them to, including Scotland's
national museum and museums elsewhere.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/