Wanting to have a piece of marble brought back from Italy and decorating a wall in his house valued, a man sought the advice of experts from the ancient world. Surprise: the piece is priceless.
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An astonishing discovery in Belgium. While seeking to have a piece of marble brought from Italy, which had decorated a wall of his house for nearly 25 years, valued, a man discovered that he actually owned a priceless piece. More than 2,000 years old, this piece of marble was stolen from Pompeii and had disappeared from circulation.
The story begins with an email received by the Gallo-Roman museum in Tongeren: a man wishing to sell his house would like to collect information about a marble plaque inlaid in a wall of the house as a decoration. Three photos are attached. Bart de Marsin, archaeologist, is immediately intrigued. “Quite quickly it was clear to us that it was an object from Pompeii, stolen in the 1970s.”
To find out for sure, the expert goes to the site. Very quickly, he recognizes the room. The man tells him he bought it from a street vendor, after a visit to the Italian archaeological site in 1975. “What we see on this marble plaque are reliefs representing an earthquake which hit Pompeii in 62 BC, with part of the walls which are in the process of being destroyed. collapsedescribes the archaeologist. In Pompeii, there are only two physical evidences of the earthquake. These are very important objects for the history of the city.”
The piece of marble will return to Italy
The owner, who pleads his good faith, received a visit from the police who wanted to know the conditions of acquisition of the object. “He was probably looking for a way to sell the plate.”notes Bart de Marsin.
The piece should soon return to Italy in a museum. As for the tourist who loves antique souvenirs more than 2,000 years old, he hopes to obtain financial compensation for having kept it for so long.
