Auctioned artifact found to be $94 fake

LONDON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- An artifact attributed to Lawrence of Arabia that was sold by Christie's auction house in London has been revealed to be a simple $94 pocket compass.

Experts have found that the compass, which was supposedly once used by the famed explorer during the Arab revolt against Turkey, never belonged to T.E. Lawrence -- and Christie's faces a mountain of bad publicity, The Sunday Mail reported.

The compass was sold with a cigarette case and a watch which were also reportedly given to Lawrence by his former chauffer, Corp. Albert "Taffy" Evans -- who may have not actually existed.

"There are a number of awkward questions to answer," Lawrence's authorized biographer Jeremy Wilson said. "I have never come across a Taffy Evans working for Lawrence. Also, why would Lawrence, having spent some months in the (United Kingdom) during the winter of 1918-19, have taken his wartime marching compass to the Paris Peace Conference?"

Christie's has said it has no reason to doubt the items' authenticity and that their seller, Colin Humphreys, has promised to refund the buyer's funds if it is proven they truly are, the newspaper said.