A woman has sparked debate online after claiming to have found a 2,000-year-old Roman artifact in a charity shop for just £35. The shopper shared her purchase on Reddit, calling it the "charity shop find of the century," but many users have cast doubt on its authenticity.
The 'Find of the Century'
In a Reddit post accompanied by two photos, the woman described the item as "the remaining piece of a Gladiator hand dated from around 200AD, originally found in a well in the Thermal Baths of Caracalla, Rome in the 1960s." She purchased the marble piece from a Cancer Research UK shop, explaining that the previous owner used it as a door stopper and wanted to declutter.
The second image revealed the £35 price tag. The buyer admitted uncertainty, stating: "The previous owner said that she wanted to declutter and by doing so needed to be rid of her c. 2,000 year old door stopper. A very heavy marble piece nonetheless!"
Reddit Users Express Doubts
Responses to the post were mixed. One user commented: "I'm not sure about the authenticity but that's a cool story, I'm just not sure it's worth £35." The buyer conceded: "Agreed - worst case scenario I’ve made a £35 donation to a lovely charity. Best case scenario - a very old piece to the bookshelf!"
Another user bluntly wrote: "You bought a lump of marble with no provenance." A third doubted: "It's definitely not watertight, anyone could have wrote that note." A fourth asked: "Who authenticated the thing? Anyone could attach a label with an odd description to anything."
Buyer Defends Purchase
The charity shop customer later returned to the post to address the skepticism. She noted: "This is the thing, it’s not been authenticated yet. But a strange story for someone to concoct to a charity shop for them to sell it for £35 quid after." She added that a piece of marble of that size and weight is likely worth around £35 anyway, and she plans to get it checked by an expert.
Another Reddit user pondered: "The question is why would someone come up with something so specific, and for what purpose – ancient sculpture fragments aren't like Faberge Eggs – and even if they were, donating it to a charity shop with a random false story attached would be a weird thing to do."
Background of the Artifact
The buyer elaborated: "When finding out more on this when buying it, the shop manager knew the previous owner (who’s a neighbour of the store) and mentioned she obtained this in the 60s when the city was conducting small-scale archaeological excavations at the Baths of Caracalla." She concluded: "I find this too specific to just be some made up story in my opinion, my risk here is £35. I will actually get this looked at by antiquarian out of curiosity."
