London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Texas woman’s Goodwill find turns out to be 2,000-year-old Roman relic

Texas woman’s Goodwill find turns out to be 2,000-year-old Roman relic

A $34.99 marble bust from a thrift store likely belonged to Roman military leader – and it’s unknown how it ended up in Austin
A Texas woman got a bang for her buck when her purchase of a $34.99 marble bust from a Goodwill thrift store turned out to be a relic from ancient Rome.

Laura Young, who has been reselling antiques for 11 years, came across a 52lb marble bust in an Austin Goodwill in 2018.

“I was just looking for anything that looked interesting,” Young told CNN. She added: “It was a bargain at $35 – there was no reason not to buy it.”

After purchasing the bust, Young reached out to various auction houses and experts to find out more about the sculpture.

A specialist used a digital database to track down the bust’s provenance and found photos from the 1930s featuring the head in Aschaffenburg in Bavaria, Germany.

Sotheby’s eventually confirmed that the bust was estimated to be about 2,000 years old, and came from ancient Rome.

Furthermore, the bust probably belonged to Roman military leader Sextus Pompey, according to San Antonio Museum of Art postdoctoral fellow Lynley McAlpine.

Pompey’s father was Pompey the Great, a political ally turned enemy of Julius Caesar.

The bust was once kept at Pompejanum, a replica of a Pompeii-style Roman home that was commissioned by King Ludwig I and built in the 1840s.

Pompejanum displayed the bust until the second world war, when groundskeepers placed the sculpture and other relics in storage as the villa came under attack.

For about the next 80 years, the bust’s whereabouts were unknown – until Young dug it up at a Goodwill.

“It seems like sometime between when it was put into storage until about 1950, someone found it and took it,” McAlpine told CNN. “Since it ended up in the US it seems likely that some American that was stationed there [during the war] got their hands on it.”

Young tried to track down the person who donated the bust through Craigslist but was unsuccessful.

“I would really love it if whoever donated it came forward,” she told CNN. “It’s most likely not the original person who took him, but [I] would still like to know the story.”

The San Antonio art museum was loaned the bust for a year, but the piece still technically belongs to Germany because it was stolen from storage.

Germany anticipates getting the bust back in May of next year and then displaying it once again in the Pompejanum.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×