A Belgian household seeking to promote their residence discovered a longtime piece of decor they’d displayed was a stolen artifact from the Roman ruins of Pompeii.
The De Temmermans lately moved to promote their villa in Herzele, Belgium, however needed to appraise a marble scene they’d introduced residence from a 1975 journey to Italy, which included a go to to Pompeii.
After deciding to promote their home, son Geert De Temmerman, 53, contacted the Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren, Belgium, to analyze if the marble slab was genuine within the hopes of promoting it as effectively.
“I heard them whisper to each other, “It’s authentic!” I requested them in the event that they have been inquisitive about shopping for it, however I used to be instructed they weren’t allowed to. … The subsequent day the doorbell rang and the judicial police have been there with a search warrant. We didn’t see that coming in any respect,” Mr. De Temmerman instructed Belgian each day newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws Wednesday, as translated from Dutch by Google.
The artifact turned out to be a part of a slab from the home of Pompeii resident Lucius Caeciulius Iucundus, depicting an earthquake within the metropolis within the 12 months 62. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii in 79.
It had been stolen on July 14, 1975.
Mr. De Temmerman’s father recounted how he purchased the slab on the household’s journey to Pompeii.
“I noticed that we were being followed by a man with a brown burlap bag. … As soon as we left the site, the man spoke to us. He showed us his merchandise and kept repeating ‘money, money’. … I wanted a souvenir from Pompeii and I accepted his proposal. It was clear that the man wanted to get rid of his stones quickly,” the elder De Temmerman instructed Het Laatste Nieuws.
Experts from the Gallo-Roman Museum are sure the De Temmerman ornament is similar stolen slab.
“A fair amount is known about how the item was stolen at the time. It closely corresponds to the original piece that we recognize from the photos,” the museum’s Bart Demarsin instructed European TV community Euronews.
An identical piece, additionally thought to depict the 62 earthquake, is displayed within the Pompeii museum, in line with Mr. Demarsin.
The piece in all probability will return to Pompeii, Mr. Demarsin mentioned, however the De Temmermans hope to obtain some form of compensation.
“The judicial police told us we might still be able to get compensation, because after all, the piece hung here for 50 years without anything happening to it. It could so easily have been sold on or broken,” Mr. De Temmerman instructed Euronews.
