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That Roman mosaic in my town was faked - and I almost bought it
Six months ago a local guy tried to sell me a 'rare' Roman mosaic for $400, swore it was dug up nearby. My old professor at Oxford looked at the photo and spotted epoxy between the tiles in 2 seconds. Has anyone else gotten close to buying a fake artifact from a private seller?
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nathan5451mo ago
My buddy got hit with the same thing buying a "Viking axe" at a flea market - the seller had clearly glued a rusty blade to a modern handle. The epoxy trick is basically the quickest tell in the book.
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joel_patel1mo ago
Ha, you're totally right actually. I used to think glued handles were just some cheap diy fix that people did to save an old axe head, not a deliberate scam. But seeing how clean that epoxy line is on a "Viking" piece makes it obvious now - no way some blacksmith in 900 AD had access to two-part adhesives. The glue never lies, I guess.
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