Couple That Spots A 'Piece Of Metal' In Yard Soon Realizes It's Worth Thousands
If you're lucky enough to have a backyard, you know just how valuable that little patch of grass can be. One New York City couple, however, ended up with much more than they bargained for in their space. What they thought to be a simple piece of metal turned out to be a door to intrigue, mystery, and riches.
Home on Staten Island
While New York City isn't exactly known for having houses with massive yards, Staten Island is a bit different. In that suburban borough, Matthew Emanual and his wife, Maria Colonna-Emanuel, found their dream home — and a little something extra.
The House on Todt Hill
The couple managed to find a home on Todt Hill in one of the island's nicer neighborhoods. Best of all, it came with a nice backyard, perfect for relaxing after a long day at work.
A Piece of Metal
Towards the back of the yard, however, the couple noticed one bizarre detail. Amid the trees, there was an unusual — and out of place — piece of metal emerging from the ground...
Likely Answers
While Matthew and Maria weren't sure what the metal was, they came to accept it as part of the landscape; it was probably an old electrical or cable box anyway. However, they soon became aware that was not the case at all.
Suburban Life
See, while Staten Island is technically part of New York City, it does hold onto some vestiges of suburban life. One of those, it seems, would cause the Colonna-Emanuels to reconsider what was lurking in their backyard.
Deer
In recent years, Staten Island has developed a bit of a deer problem! Some of the animals wandered into the couple's backyard and wreaked havoc among the plants, which brought attention back to the area.
Landscaping
Matthew brought in a landscaper to fix up some trees and the man, unsurprisingly, noticed the metal box in the brush. He was convinced, however, that it wasn't housing wires. In fact, he thought it was too banged up and rusted to hold much of anything...
Old Scrap
The best guess was that the metal was simply a piece of old scrap, so the men used some heavy machinery to unearth it. Once it was free, though, its true identity was plain as day.
Safety First
The piece of metal turned out to be the corner of safe! Once everyone got over the surprise, their minds turned to the logical question: what valuables could be locked inside?
Getting Inside
The couple decided they had to learn what was inside the safe; there was no turning back now! They got some tools and, without too much effort, had cracked through the rusty metal shell.
Take a Look
Once the dust had settled, Matthew reached down to open the safe. As daylight filled the interior, the Colonna-Emanuels couldn't believe their eyes. It seemed like something out of their wildest dreams!
Rain Water
As you'd expect, the safe was full of valuables! The couple pulled some bricks of cash, which, unfortunately, had been ruined by water. Some of the loot, however, was in better condition, and it was far more promising.
Treasure
Beyond the cash, the couple found a literal buried treasure. "And there are all these bags with hundreds, and jewelry, diamonds, engagement rings, dozens of rings, gold with jade," Matthew told CBS News. "It was stunning." As stunning as the jewels were, they weren't alone in the safe.
Paper
After removing all of the valuables, though, the safe still wasn't completely empty. The couple noticed that, at the bottom of the interior, there was a simple slip of paper with some faded writing on it.
Neighbors
On the paper, the Colonna-Emanuels found a familiar address. The home in question belonged to one of their neighbors! Matthew and Maria headed over and knocked on the door. They hoped that whoever appeared behind that door could help them solve this mystery.
Burgled
When Matthew asked the neighbors if their home had ever been robbed, they said they had. There was one catch, however: the burglary in question took place in 2011 — several years earlier!
Ninja Burglar
In 2011, a man known as the Ninja Burglar went on a robbery spree across Staten Island. While he robbed hundreds of home over 10 years, he apparently didn't make it far with this safe.
Abandoned
Whether he decided it was too much trouble or planned to come back later, he left the safe in what became the Colonna-Emanuel's back yard. It sat there for years, until the couple finally cracked it open.
"It wasn't ours."
The Colonna-Emanuels returned the safe's contents to their neighbors. "It wasn't ours," Maria simply told the New York Daily News. Today, a white elephant sits where the safe once did, reminding the couple of their literal buried treasure.
Returned Property
Meanwhile, the jewels, engagement rings, and more went back to the neighbors, who were delighted to have their items returned. Of course, what would you do if you find something in your yard, and its owners are long gone?
An Ancient Underground Relic
Luke Irwin, a famed floor covering and rug designer, ran into that dilemma. He had no idea his Wiltshire, England, home was hiding a critical historical artifact. There had been no evidence of anything ancient until workers were digging for electrical wiring on his property.
A Loud Cry
Luke was sitting inside his home when he heard a worker shout, seemingly in shock. The rug designer ran outside to see what the commotion was about, only to be met with a worker holding a pickax in the air and looking curiously into a hole in the ground.
Bright Colors Peeking Through
“In February 2015, while laying electricity cables so my children could play ping-pong in an old barn, we struck a cold, hard surface," the designer explained. Thankfully, workers noticed the bright colors peaking out of the ground just before shattering whatever it was with a pickax.
A Mosaic Wonder
Upon further inspection, it was a tiled mosaic boasting bright blues, oranges, and creams. While everyone else scratched their heads, the strange find had Luke thinking of another oddity on his property.
The Peculiar Trough
There was a bizarre trough located near his property's main house, which his contractor asked about. No one knew how long it had been there, so the designer didn't think much of it at first. But after finding the mosaic? This property was special.
An Ancient Roman Floor
Experts looked at the mosaic 18 inches underground and concluded it was a Roman mosaic floor from approximately the 4th century, preserved for years by the chilly English countryside. As he learned more details, Luke became even more incredulous.
A Luxurious Villa
The Roman mosaic was once in a luxurious estate, the Deverill Villa, which existed from 175 to 220 AD. "It really goes to show how all empires stand and fall," Luke said. The ancient site was far more advanced than experts expected.
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A Historical Achievement
"There was running water and heat in this villa," Luke explained to Architectural Digest. "That hadn’t existed in the 1,600 years after that." With answers slowly trickling in, he revisited the odd trough on his property. What was it?
Rich in History
Luke had an archaeologist visit his property, who confirmed that the trough was actually a Roman child's coffin! Clearly Luke was unknowingly living on land rich in ancient history. He felt both foolish and invigorated.
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Overcoming Ignorance
"What this sort of thing throws out to you is a level of your own ignorance. I knew what this thing was, but I had no idea the date of it or the quality," Luke said. The more Luke learned about the mosaic's backstory, the more he wanted to honor it.
Design Inspiration
After discovering the ancient beauty, it didn't leave Luke's mind. In fact, he thought about the mysterious mosaic floor for six weeks, trying to calculate how to use it as inspiration for his own floor designs.
A Gift From the Gods
"I design floors for the 20th century, and here’s a decorated floor from the fourth century. The conclusion I came to is that you cannot spit in the eyes of the gods when such a gift is given to you," Luke explained, excitement taking over him.
Ancient Times Meets the 21st Century
With the tesserae, AKA the tiny square tiles from the mosaic, as his muse, Luke set out to design a collection of rugs that both recognized the Roman floor's historic pattern and exuded 21st-century tastes.
Avoiding an Overdone Design
"What I wanted to do with all the rugs was to make things that people would look at and see the story of how they were made without it being fussy or overdone," Luke said. And he had a plan to do just that.
Rhythm and Flow
He decided to separate the collection into two distinct categories: Rhythm and Flow. "One is more geometric, and one is more abstract," Luke explained of his creative decisions.
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Not a Knockoff
"The geometrics are more synonymous with the antique pavement. What you’re trying to do is show that inspiration comes from all different places," he continued. He didn't simply want to make a "pastiche of Roman mosaics" that would be cheap and unoriginal.
A Silk Replica
However, the Deverill rug in his Mosaic collection for ABC Home, which is made of silk, is close to an exact replica of the buried floor, as to allow the world to experience the beauty Luke was lucky enough to see in person.
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Creating Something New
Aside from that one rug, the rest of the collection merely sees the Roman flooring as a creative starting point. "We are not the British Museum shop. We don’t want to replicate; we want to create something new," Luke explained. And the collection didn't stick to just one style.
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For Contemporary Spaces
Luke's past collections have boasted elaborate, elegant designs fit for both striking country houses and mosques, but this collection aimed to speak to more modest floors. "So what you’re balancing are abstract designs and the geometrics, which go in contemporary spaces and work in more traditional environments," Luke detailed.
Roman Design Meets Indian Weaving
And though the designs pay homage to ancient Roman mosaic tiling, the creation of the rugs relies on Indian weaving. With silk and wool blends and a tedious washing process, which all add to the rugs' antique appearance, Luke calls his weavers' methods "genius."
Incorporating Rich History
"Part of the adventure of this is that I figured out that the Romans actually made it to India, and there is a trade history between the Romans and the Indians," Luke disclosed. Today, the world continues to interact with Roman history in magnificent ways.
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