The ivory chess piece was excavated in Butrint (southern Albania), on the site of a Byzantine palace. It appears to be more than 500 years older than any chess piece previously discovered in the European cultural centres. Leaders of the University of East Anglia expedition said it proved the game had a much longer history in Europe than was previously thought.
Until now chess historians had agreed that the game only became popular with the European elite during the 12th Century, 700 years after it was invented India. It probably came to Europe when the Moors invaded Spain and Sicily in the 7th century.
