An 18th-century Roman Catholic grave marker from the city of Rome, recently discovered in a New Orleans backyard. This exciting find opens a window to an incredible era of history. The artifact is a stunning 1,900-year-old headstone honouring a Roman sailor and military figure named Sextus Congenius Verus. Until then, its previous owner Charles Paddock Jr., a U.S. Army serviceman who was stationed in Italy during the Second World War, stored it in a display case.
The stone was in Paddock’s possession until his death in 1986. He even married his wife Adele in Italy during the war, making the artifact’s connection to his personal history all the more meaningful. Following Paddock’s death, the marker was inherited by his granddaughter, Erin O’Brien, who relocated it to her backyard when she bought a home in New Orleans’ Carrollton area in 2003.
“I really didn’t know what I had, I just thought it was a work of art,” O’Brien said, looking back on her understanding of the artifact while in possession of it.
The headstone had previously been declared lost from the city museum of Civitavecchia, Italy, where it was found originally. This commemorative monument from the second century celebrates Sextus Congenius Verus. It serves to highlight, through the experiences of soldiers like Paddock, the deep-rooted connections that have long existed between Italy and the United States.
In March 2023, the current owners, Charles and Adele, made the discovery when they were clearing bushes and brush from their yard. They knew how important it was and needed to start looking into how it was created. D Ryan Gray, an archaeologist based at the University of New Orleans, was asked to provide an expert opinion on the artifact’s history.
“I was really thinking we’d have our list of possible people through whom it could have ended up here,” Gray stated, emphasizing the importance of tracing artifacts back to their rightful owners or locations.
In light of the recent discovery, appropriate measures have been taken to ensure that the grave marker is returned to Italy. The FBI’s art crime team has since put their custody to the headstone so that it can be repatriated back to the Civitavecchia museum. This process reflects ongoing efforts to recover stolen or lost cultural heritage items and underscores the importance of preserving historical artifacts for future generations.
As the story unfolds, the journey of this ancient Roman grave marker serves as a poignant reminder of how intertwined personal histories can be with broader historical narratives. For O’Brien’s grandfather, the stone seems to have an almost spiritual significance. This connection adds to the value of that heritage, connecting personal family legacy with millennia of history.