A laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University is turning U.S. archaeological finds in to Chess sets. As a way of engaging the public in preservation work, the lab is using 3D scanners and printers to create a virtual catalog of historical objects and replicate some of them as game pieces.

Of the three sets produced so far, one is based on artifacts found at the Jamestown Settlement, one on just spear and arrow heads, and one on miscellaneous objects from various sites. In the Jamestown set, the pawns are modeled on a bust based on the skull of a teenage boy killed by an arrow. In the third set, the pawns are replicas of a turn-of-the-century Frozen Charlotte doll found in Washington, D.C.

VCU Archaeology Chess Set