Human Interest Woman Discovers Slab She Used to Climb onto Horses Is Actually a Roman Engraving Worth Nearly $20k The English woman found the slab in her garden about 20 years ago By Joelle Goldstein Joelle Goldstein Twitter Joelle Goldstein is a TV Staff Editor for PEOPLE Digital. She has been with the brand for five years, beginning her time as a digital news writer, where she covered everything from entertainment news to crime stories and royal tours. Since then, she has worked as a writer-reporter on the Human Interest team and an associate editor on the TV team. In her current role, Joelle oversees all things TV and enjoys being able to say she has to watch The Kardashians, Dancing with the Stars and America's Got Talent for "work". Prior to joining PEOPLE, Joelle was employed at The Hollywood Reporter. She graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Television-Radio (and an appearance in the NCAA Women's Volleyball Final Four!) People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 7, 2021 07:01 PM Share Tweet Pin Email The Roman slab. Photo: Woolley and Wallis Salerooms An English woman unknowingly discovered a piece of history in her garden — and archeologists believe it's worth up to $20,000. The marble slab was first found about 20 years ago in the southern England village of Whiteparish, according to a press release from Woolley and Wallis, the auction house that is now selling the historical rock. For almost 10 years, the woman had been using the intricate slab as a horse mounting block in her stable. It wasn't until she noticed a wreath carved into its surface that she decided to take the slab to an archeologist, who determined that the rock likely dates back to 2nd century AD with possible origins in either Greece or Asia Minor, the release stated. "Artifacts of this type often came into England as the result of Grand Tours in the late 18th and 19th century, when wealthy aristocrats would tour Europe learning about Classical art and culture," Woolley and Wallis' Antiquities specialist, Will Hobbs, explained in a statement. The garden where the slab was found. Woolley and Wallis Salerooms Man Finds 9-Carat Diamond He Thought Was Glass in Arkansas State Park: 'I Was in Complete Shock' Despite knowing how the slab may have entered the United Kingdom, Hobbs said it was still "a complete mystery" as to how it ended up in a domestic garden in Whiteparish and called on the public for their help. The specialist noted in the release that the woman's bungalow on Common Road was built in the mid-1960s — a detail he hoped would lead someone who lived in the area at the time or worked on its construction to provide information of the rubble used. CNN also reported that the slab has "The people [and] the Young Men [honor] Demetrios [son] of Metrodoros [the son] of Leukios" inscribed on its surface. "There are several possibilities of where the stone might have originated," Hobbs said in the release. "Both Cowesfield House and Broxmore House were very close to Whiteparish and were demolished in 1949 after having been requisitioned by the army during the war." Tanzanian Miner Becomes Millionaire Overnight After Finding the 2 Biggest Tanzanite Stones Ever "But we also know that the house at what is now Paulton's Park was destroyed by fire in 1963 and so possibly rubble from there was reused at building sites in the area shortly afterwards," he added. As officials look to gather more information, the auction house confirmed that the rock is expected to be sold at Woolley and Wallis in Salisbury at a later date. It currently holds a pre-sale estimate value of £10,000-15,000 ($13,564-$20,346 USD), the press release stated.