Uig Sands


(Traigh Uige, TrĂ igh Uige)

A fine white sandy beach in a sheltered bay on the west coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, the Uig Sands (Gael: Traigh Uige, sometimes recorded erroneously as Traigh Uuige) lie between the settlements of Timsgarry and Carnish, and comprise the inner section of Camas Uig. A dune system and machair lie behind the sands. The Lewis Chessmen were found in a cist burial within these dunes in 1831. Dating from the 12th C., these 93 gaming pieces (of which 78 are chessmen) represent some of the most important Norse artefacts in existence. The collection was split, with eleven now in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and the remainder owned the British Museum in London, although six of these are on permanent loan to Museum nan Eilean in Stornoway.


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