New Orleans Couple Discovers Ancient Roman Grave Marker in Yard

NEW ORLEANS, La. (KPEL-FM) - A New Orleans couple got the shock of lifetime recently while working in their backyard when they uncovered a 1,900-year-old Roman grave marker.

This begs the obvious question...what the heck is nearly 2,000-year-old Roman grave marker doing buried in someone's backyard in New Orleans, Louisiana?

That's exactly the question they asked as well.

YouTube Via WWLTV

Roman Grave Marker Found In New Orleans' Backyard

Last Spring while Dr. Daniella Santoro and her husband were clearing vines in the backyard of their New Orleans home, they found something pretty mysterious.

Dr. Daniella Santoro tells WWLTV that while working in the backyard, her husband called out to her saying he just found a really cool looking stone.

It was a really cool looking stone indeed.

Dr. Santoro, who just so happens to teach at Tulane as an expert in cultural anthropology, recognized what this mysterious stone was, but tells WWL that "Not in a million years did I think it was actually authentic."

And honestly, who would? Most people wouldn't even understand what it was they had just dug up. This being said, Dr. Santoro was intrigued enough to enlist the help of UNO archeologist Dr. Ryan Gray and Tulane classical studies expert Dr. Susann Lusnia and get their opinion.

No one could have expected what that opinion turned out to be.

From WWLTV -

Dr. Lusnia researched and combed data base after data base, and found the tomb stone. It had come from Italy from the city of Civitavecchia which in Roman times was known as Centumcellae.

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Youtube Via WWLTV

Dr. Lusina's research confirmed that this was in fact an authentic 1,900-year-old Roman grave stone from Italy.

How Did A Roman Grave Marker Wind Up In New Orleans?

After research proved the Roman head stone was an actual ancient artifact, then the task became figuring out why and how it wound up in someone's backyard in New Orleans.

While looking in to the mysterious find, Dr. Lusnia discovered the grave marker had been labeled as missing from an Italian museum after it was bombed in 1943 during World War II.

This still begs the question: How did it wind up in New Orleans, Louisiana?

Was it a souvenir brought back to New Orleans by a WWII Vet? Did someone from New Orleans buy it illegally on the black market? The answer as to how it wound up buried in a backyard in New Orleans may never be known.

Currently, the Roman grave marker is back where it belongs, officially repatriated back to Italy.