A chess piece purchased for a few dollars by an antique expert has been identified as one of the 900-year-old Lewis Chessmen, among the greatest artifacts of the Viking era.
The Lewis Chessmen are intricate, expressive chess pieces in the form of Norse warriors -- carved from walrus ivory in the 12th century.
The piece to be auctioned July 2nd, the equivalent of a rook, is the first of the missing chessmen to be identified.
It is expected to bring between 600-thousand and one-million pounds.
One-million pounds equals approx. 1.7 million dollars Canadian.