The Quick 10: How 10 Works of Art Were Discovered

It was this month in 1820 that a peasant farming the fields stumbled across one of the greatest artistic finds in history: the Venus de Milo. Seriously, all I ever find when I'm digging in my yard are pieces of broken toys and copious amounts of cigarette butts. Maybe you'll be luckier than me... read how these 10 works of art were "discovered" and then go and do a little digging of your own. And if you find anything, you have to give me 10 percent for inspiring you. ...No? Well, I tried.

1. The Venus de Milo was discovered in 1820 by a Greek farmer digging in his field. He found a cavity in the ground with the Venus inside; it also contained three statues of Hermes and a marble fragment that didn't belong to any of them. There was some debate over whether the statue belonged to Turkey or France, but Venus ended up being presented to the King of France (Louis XVIII) and she's been in the Louvre ever since.

5. The Venus of Willendorf, despite dating back to 24,000 BCE or so, was only discovered in 1908. Austrian archaeologist Josef Szombathy was excavating a paleolithic site near the city of Krems, Austria, when he stumbled upon the old gal. She was carved from a limestone that isn't native to the area, so lots of speculation as to how she got there has been flying around ever since. If you want to see her in person, the Venus of Willendorf is at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.

8. The Code of Hammurabi was discovered in 1901 by Gustav Jequier, an Egyptologist and part of the excavation crew of Jacques de Morgan. It had been hidden since about the 12th century BC when it was stolen by the then-King of Elam, Shutruk-Nakhkhunte when he defeated the Mesopotamian Empire (we think).

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