Many of us have unique knicknacks in our homes with slightly mysterious origins, but they usually don’t turn out to be lost artifacts from Pompeii! During a tour of the ancient city in Italy, a Belgian father and son purchased a piece of stone artwork. It’s been a fixture in their stairway for the past 50 years, but the family recently decided that they wanted to learn more about the object’s past. Experts were shocked when they discovered that the carved creation was actually a valuable historic artifact!
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Raphaël De Temmerman and his son, Geert, were stunned when they learned the news. Apparently, their souvenir from Italy was not only a lost Pompeii artifact, but a stolen one! It had gone missing 50 years earlier — around the same time the De Temmermans were sold their art piece. Now, UPI tells us that the authorities plan to send the object back to its rightful home.
“It shows the earthquake from around 62 A.D.,” Geert told Euronews Culture, pointing to the carving. “You can see the entrance gate of Pompeii, which is falling over.”
You never know what you’ll find in your home —or, if you’re this art dealer, the thrift store!
Watch the video below to learn more about how Raphaël and Geert De Temmerman found out their home decor was actually a lost Pompeii artifact.
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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