Police in Cyprus are wondering why thieves would steal a tombstone instead of flowers, which is what normally goes missing from graveyards.

A heavy marble slab was taken from a family tomb. A relative noticed it was gone when he went to visit the grave.

Chrysoulla Neophytou, 63, told the Greek-Cypriot daily, "I came to light a candle, the place was a mess. I thought I had stumbled on another grave and made a mistake."

Police say the tombstone was taken in the last 20 days from a graveyard in the main thoroughfare of Cyprus' capital of Nicosia.