A New Orleans family’s backyard cleanup unearthed a 1,900-year-old Roman gravestone, a long-lost artifact from an Italian museum, unveiling a captivating saga of ancient history, wartime displacement, and a surprising rediscovery that has captivated archaeologists and the public alike.
In an extraordinary tale that bridges millennia and continents, a family in New Orleans stumbled upon a 1,900-year-old Roman grave marker while tidying their overgrown backyard. What began as a mundane chore quickly transformed into an archaeological sensation, as the marble tablet with its Latin inscription, including the eerie phrase “spirits of the dead,” signaled an undeniably significant find.
The discovery initiated a fascinating investigation, tracing the artifact’s origins from an ancient Roman cemetery in Italy, through the tumultuous years of World War II, and finally to its unexpected resting place in a modern American garden. This isn’t just a story about a lost relic; it’s a testament to the enduring power of history and the intricate ways human lives intersect with the past.
The Backyard Discovery and Initial Identification
The unusual find was made by Daniella Santoro, a Tulane University anthropologist, and her family. The presence of Latin on the marble tablet immediately caught her attention. “The fact that it was in Latin that really just gave us pause, right?” Santoro remarked, recognizing the inscription as something far beyond an ordinary garden ornament.
Intrigued and slightly bewildered, Santoro reached out to her colleague, classical archaeologist Susann Lusnia, also from Tulane University. Lusnia’s expertise quickly confirmed the slab’s immense significance: it was the grave marker of a Roman sailor named Sextus Congenius Verus, dating back 1,900 years. Lusnia described her reaction to seeing the image as a “shiver up my spine,” deeply impressed by the extraordinary nature of the artifact.
This initial identification sparked a meticulous investigation into the tablet’s long and complex history, revealing a journey that would surprise even seasoned archaeologists.
A Sailor’s Legacy: The Story of Sextus Congenius Verus
The gravestone provides a poignant glimpse into the life of Sextus Congenius Verus. He died at the age of 42, after dedicating more than two decades to serving in the Roman imperial navy. His ship was named after Asclepius, the Greco-Roman god of medicine, suggesting the importance of health and healing even in military life.
The inscription on the tablet hails Sextus as “well deserving” and indicates it was commissioned by his “heirs.” According to archaeologist Lusnia, these individuals were likely his shipmates, as Roman military personnel were typically forbidden from marrying at the time. This detail highlights the strong bonds and familial structures that often formed within the military ranks of ancient Rome.
For Romans, grave markers were more than just memorials; they were vital tools for preserving one’s legacy and ensuring remembrance. The rediscovery of Sextus’s gravestone nearly two millennia later fulfills this ancient desire for an eternal legacy, making his name once again a topic of conversation and study.
Tracing the Tablet’s Lost Decades in Italy
Lusnia’s “sleuthing” extended beyond merely identifying Sextus; it revealed that the tablet had been missing from an Italian museum for many decades. Its journey began in an ancient cemetery of approximately 20 military graves, unearthed in the 1860s in Civitavecchia, a seaside town in northwest Italy, roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Rome. The text of the tablet was meticulously recorded in 1910 and cataloged among Latin inscriptions, though its exact whereabouts later became unknown.
Before World War II, the tablet was documented at the National Archeological Museum in Civitavecchia. However, the museum suffered extensive damage during Allied bombing campaigns and took several decades to rebuild. During this chaotic period, the gravestone vanished. Museum staff later confirmed to Lusnia that the artifact had indeed been missing for decades. Crucially, the recorded measurements of the original tablet—1 square foot (0.09 square meters) and 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) thick—perfectly matched the dimensions of the slab found in Santoro’s backyard, providing what Lusnia called “better DNA than that” for identification.
The Wartime Journey to New Orleans
The mystery of how a Roman gravestone traversed the Atlantic and ended up in a New Orleans backyard was unraveled by a surprising turn of events. As news of the discovery circulated, Erin Scott O’Brien received a call from her ex-husband, urging her to watch the news. O’Brien immediately recognized the marble slab, which she had always considered a “cool-ass piece of art.”
O’Brien explained that she and her ex-husband had used the tablet as a garden decoration before selling the home to Santoro in 2018. They had no idea of its historical significance. “None of us knew what it was,” O’Brien stated, expressing their shock upon learning the truth.
The tablet’s journey to New Orleans began with O’Brien’s grandparents, Charles and Adele Paddock. Charles, a New Orleans native, was stationed in Italy during World War II. There, he fell in love with Adele, an Italian woman. The couple married in Italy in 1946 and, sometime after, brought the ancient Roman tablet back to their new home in New Orleans. This wartime romance and subsequent relocation inadvertently transformed a significant archaeological artifact into a family garden curiosity, highlighting the often-unintended movement of cultural heritage during global conflicts as detailed by the National Geographic.
The Future of the Artifact: Repatriation Efforts
With its true identity and provenance confirmed, the gravestone of Sextus Congenius Verus is now at the center of discussions regarding its rightful return. The FBI is actively engaged in talks with Italian authorities to facilitate the repatriation of the tablet. While an FBI spokesperson could not comment on specific details due to an ongoing government shutdown at the time, the commitment to returning cultural heritage is clear.
The process of artifact repatriation is complex, often involving diplomatic negotiations and legal frameworks to ensure cultural property returns to its country of origin. This particular case underscores the importance of such efforts in rectifying historical displacements and preserving national heritage, as reported by the Associated Press.
A Timeless Reminder: Why History Matters
The rediscovery of Sextus’s grave marker serves as a powerful reminder of how deeply ancient Roman culture valued remembrance. Archaeologist Lusnia eloquently summarized this sentiment: “If there’s an afterlife and he’s in it and he knows, he’s very happy because this is what a Roman wants—to be remembered forever.” Indeed, through this serendipitous find, Sextus Congenius Verus has achieved his desired immortality, his story now shared across continents and generations.
This event is more than a fascinating historical footnote; it highlights the enduring allure of archaeology and the profound connections we can forge with the distant past through tangible artifacts. It reminds us that history is often closer than we think, sometimes literally buried beneath our feet, waiting to be rediscovered and understood.
