Ancient Roman Empire Tombstone Discovered in NOLA Yard Left by US Soldier's Granddaughter

This ancient Roman tombstone just uncovered in a lawn in New Orleans seems to have been inherited and placed there by the female descendant of a military man who was deployed in Italy during the World War II.

Via declarations that nearly unraveled an international historical mystery, the granddaughter shared with regional news sources that her ancestor, her grandfather, kept the ancient artifact in a display case at his home in New Orleans’ Gentilly district until he died in 1986.

She explained she was uncertain the way the soldier came to possess an object reported missing from an Italian museum near Rome that had destroyed the majority of its artifacts during World War II attacks. However her grandfather was stationed in Italy with the US army during the war, tied the knot with Adele there, and came home to New Orleans to pursue a career as a singing instructor, the descendant explained.

It was fairly common for military personnel who served in Europe in World War II to return with souvenirs.

“I just thought it was a piece of art,” the granddaughter remarked. “I didn’t realize it was an ancient … artifact.”

In any event, what O’Brien initially thought was a unremarkable marble tablet was eventually inherited to her after the veteran’s demise, and she placed it down as a garden decoration in the rear area of a residence she bought in the city’s Carrollton neighborhood in 2003. The heir overlooked to retrieve the item with her when she sold the property in 2018 to a couple who discovered the relic in March while clearing away undergrowth.

The pair – scholar Daniella Santoro of the academic institution and her husband, the co-owner – understood the item had an engraving in ancient Latin. They consulted researchers who established the artifact was a headstone dedicated to a circa second-century Roman sailor and soldier named Sextus Congenius Verus.

Furthermore, the team learned, the tombstone corresponded to the description of one reported missing from the municipal museum of Civitavecchia, Italy, near where it had first discovered, as a participating scholar – University of New Orleans archaeologist the archaeologist – stated in a column released online earlier this week.

The homeowners have since handed over the artifact to the federal investigators, and plans to return the item to the Italian museum are under way so that facility can show appropriately it.

She, now located in the New Orleans community of Metairie suburb, said she recalled her grandpa’s unusual artifact again after the publication had received coverage from the worldwide outlets. She said she got in touch with local media after a conversation from her ex-husband, who told her that he had come across a article about the item that her grandpa had once had – and that it in fact proved to be a piece from one of the planet’s ancient cultures.

“We were utterly amazed,” O’Brien said. “It’s just unbelievable how this came about.”

Gray, meanwhile, said it was a comfort to learn how Congenius Verus’s tombstone made its way in the yard of a residence more than a great distance away from the Italian city.

“I expected we would compile a list of potential individuals connected to its journey,” Dr. Gray commented. “I didn’t anticipate discovering the exact heir – making it exhilarating to uncover the truth.”