A 1,300-year-old chess piece carved out of white sandstone found in Jordan could be the oldest in the world, according to archeologists. The figurine was excavated in a desert region of southern Jordan in 1991, among the ruins of the historical Islamic trading post of Humayma. "This shape is standard for early Islamic pieces right through the 13th-14th Century," said John P. Oleson, professor of archaeology at the University of ...