NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – An ancient Roman grave marker found last year in the backyard of a New Orleans residence has been repatriated to Italy, as part of a ceremony held last week in Rome, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
According to the FBI, an unnamed New Orleans resident was “cleaning up her backyard” in May 2025 when she discovered the epitaph, described as a “Roman imperial-period tablet.” The woman notified the FBI New Orleans field office and the law enforcement agency took possession of the relic.
The marble funerary stone wound up being one of two antiquities returned to Rome last week, the other being a gilded 17th century reliquary urn recovered by the FBI Boston field office, the agency said…