Stunned couple unearths 150-pound mystery hidden beneath their backyard for decades

This post was originally published on this site.

A couple in San Franciscorecently uneartheda 150-pound limestone sculpture buried in their backyard, setting off a search to uncover who created it and how it got there.

Greg Gatwood was doing yard work at the couple’sRussian Hillhome in May when he came across what he initially thought was a piece of concrete buried in the ground as his partner Judy Gittelsohn stood nearby.

�peering” back at him.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER MYSTERIOUS FACE HIDDEN FOR CENTURIES IN BOOK OF REVELATION CITY

“I thought, ‘Well, maybe I should just break it into smaller pieces,’” Gatwood said.“Then I realized it was a statue.

“It was like something you see in a movie, almost cinematic, you know — a big beautiful statue like this.”

A San Francisco couple was stunned to uncover a 150-pound limestone sculpture buried in the backyard of their Russian Hill home.Greg Gatwood is shown at right brushing off the sculpture. (Judy Gittelsohn)

Gittelsohn said she was stunned when Gatwood showed her the enormous, two-foot-wide statue and was impressed by the quality of its craftsmanship.

“I was just shocked,” she said.“What an enormous find.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVER MASSIVE ARTIFACT DEPICTING PHARAOH THOUGHT TO HAVE CHALLENGED MOSES IN EXODUS

“I was surprised.I was just gobsmacked.”

Three months after their discovery, the couple is still searching for answers.

The couple is searching for answers about the genesis of the mysterious limestone sculpture and how it ended up buried in their yard.(Judy Gittelsohn)

Gittelsohn, a professional artist, said she researched the sculpture.She believes it dates to the 1930s and may be connected to artists working under theWorks Progress Administration(WPA).

The couple’s home is near the former San Francisco Art Institute, where prominent sculptor Ralph Stackpole taught for decades, leading Gittelsohn to believe the piece may have a connection to him or one of his students.

One clue supporting that theory, she said, is that the sculpture was carved from relatively inexpensive limestone rather than costlier materials such as marble or granite.

Gatwood believes the statue may have been used as garden art and that it was eventually buried with time.

Split image of couple measuring width, length of statue

The limestone sculpture weighs about 150 pounds and measures roughly 2 feet wide, according to the San Francisco couple who discovered it.(Judy Gittelsohn)

“It’s quite possible this statue was displayed in the garden and not so much buried, but just lost,” he said.

After the couple received local attention for their find, Gittelsohn said a 93-year-old woman took an Uber to their home with her walker and knocked on their door.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

The woman, one of several people who have reached out to the couple since the discovery became public, told them she had previously held a show featuring Ralph Stackpole’s work.

Judy Gittelsohn and Greg Gatwood in interview

In September, the couple plans to put the sculpture on public display at theAmerican Messenger Galleryin hopes that someone may recognize the piece or know who created it.

“We think someone will eventually recognize it,” Gatwood said.

Close-up detail on mysterious statue, view of statue in ground

The story of this enormous sculpture comes about a year after a different couple made a mysterious discovery in their backyard as well. (Judy Gittelsohn)