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The Times of India
The Times of India
World
TOI World Desk

A San Francisco man was digging in his backyard when his shovel hit something hard; he unearthed a 150-pound limestone sculpture and nobody knows who made it

A routine gardening project in San Francisco turned into a historical mystery when a local landscape contractor found a 150-pound limestone sculpture buried deep beneath his backyard. Greg Gatwood, 65, was digging in the garden of his Russian Hill home in May when his shovel struck a hard object. Expecting an old wooden fence post footing, he cleared the soil with a pickaxe and discovered a carved limestone bust showing a woman with broad facial features. The sculpture measures 22 inches wide, 18 inches high, and 10 inches deep. It shows a woman's head and neck rising from a solid rectangular base. Months after finding it, Gatwood and his partner, professional painter Judy Gittelsohn, have spoken with dozens of historians, curators, and art experts, but the sculptor's identity remains unknown.

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