FBI Returns 1,900‑Year‑Old Roman Sailor’s Gravestone to Italy

Tulane University anthropologist Danielle Santoro and her husband Aaron Lorenz discovered the slab while clearing undergrowth in their yard last year. They noticed its smooth surface and a Latin inscription, prompting them to contact experts. University of New Orleans archaeologist Ryan Gray and Tulane classical studies professor Susann Lusnia examined the lettering and weathering patterns to date the artifact to the second century CE. Their analysis, which compared the inscription to known epitaphs in the Journal of Roman Archaeology, confirmed the stone marked the grave of Sextus Congenius Verus, a Roman sailor and military figure.

- The FBI’s New Orleans office relinquished the relic to a member of the FBI Art Crime Team in November 2025. - Daily communication between the FBI Law Enforcement Attaché Office in Rome and Italian officials facilitated the return. - The repatriation occurred under the US‑Italy Cultural Property Agreement, the nation’s oldest bilateral accord with a European country. - The ceremony also included the return of another antiquity recovered in the United States.

The return reinforces efforts to combat illicit trafficking of cultural property and restores a piece of Italy’s archaeological heritage that was lost during World War II. It demonstrates how international cooperation, guided by formal agreements, can resolve provenance disputes and support educational access to ancient objects. Scholars note that restoring such items helps communities reconnect with histories disrupted by conflict and displacement.