Mona Lisa search leads archaeologists to tombs, crypt

Washington, May 13 (ANI): Archaeologists digging a former Italian church in search for the remains of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa have unearthed a series of crypts and two tombs.

The discovery happened during a quest for locating the tomb of Lisa Gherardini Del Giocondo, the model who is believed to have inspired the world-famous 'Mona Lisa' painting.

The archaeologists are hoping to obtain enough remains of the noblewoman for reconstructing part of the face to compare it with 'Mona Lisa' to determine whether she really was the inspiration for the portrait or not.

"The finding is consistent with our records. We should be where the altar once stood, and where a trapdoor led to the crypt we saw on the georadar scan," the Fox News quoted Silvano Vinceti, an Italian art historian as saying.

Vinceti's team has been using a ground-penetrating "georadar" device to search the crumbling three-story Saint Orsola church in Florence.

In a fine achievement, they have located a series of brick steps, which they believe once led down to an underground crypt. (ANI)