In the garden of an English house, in Hampshire to be precise, an unexpected discovery was made: a stone, used for 10 years by the owner of the property as a support for riding a horse, is actually a rare Roman artifact. One day, the woman noticed a strange laurel wreath engraved on the surface of the rock and called in an expert to find out more.
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image credit: Wolley and Wallis
The archaeologist who assessed the slab said it was a rare find: the slab, about 63 cm long, dates from the second century AD . and its estimate before the sale is between 11,000 and 16,000 euros. It is still not clear how the marble masterpiece arrived in England. According to a statement from Woolley and Wallis, a UK auction house currently selling the slab, it was likely carved in Greece or Asia Minor. Experts were able to trace some of the information. Its inscription is as follows: “the people (and) the young men (honor) Demetrios (son) of Metrodoros (the son) of Leukios.”
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image credit: No-longer-here/Pixabay
Although the ancient Roman Empire extended to the British Isles, this slab was not produced locally; it was probably brought to England around 300 years ago, according to Woolley and Wallis, following the Grand Tours made in the late 18th and 19th centuries, when wealthy aristocrats roamed Europe to familiarize themselves with the art and classical culture. What is truly inexplicable is how the artifact ended up in a home garden.
source used: Woolley and Wallis