New Orleans couple discovers ancient Roman grave marker in their yard

Discovery of 1,900-year-old headstone dedicated to Roman sailor sets off effort to repatriate item to Italy

A New Orleans couple clearing away undergrowth in their home’s yard unearthed a grave marker, setting off a quest for answers about how the roughly 1,900-year-old relic ended up there – and an effort to repatriate it to Italy.

The remarkable discovery was the work of Tulane University anthropologist Daniella Santoro and her husband, Aaron Lorenz, according to a report published online Monday by the magazine of New Orleans’s Preservation Resource Center (PRC).