New Orleans couple digs up ancient Roman artifact in backyard, sets off worldwide mystery

A New Orleans couple unearthed a mysterious Roman relic in their backyard this year - and now, officials know why it ended up there.

A picture of the stone shows it partly buried among weeds and dead leaves. Santoro, an anthropologist at Tulane University, promptly contacted local officials. 

An array of experts got involved in the search - from university professors to members of the FBI's Art Crime Team. They were able to decode the Latin inscription.

The marble relic was an ancient Roman funerary artifact for a sailor named Sextus Congenius Verus. 

Word eventually reached Erin Scott O'Brien, the former owner of the Carrollton home - who was shocked by the news. 

As it turns out, she had placed the slab in her backyard in 2004.

"We planted a tree and said this is the start of our new house, let's put it outside in our garden," O'Brien told PRCNO's Preservation in Print.

"I just thought it was a piece of art," she said. "I had no idea it was a 2,000-year-old relic." 

The previous owners of the stone were O'Brien's grandparents, Charles and Adele Paddock, who both passed away in the 1980s. 

It's unclear how the Paddocks obtained the stone, but the artifact is currently in FBI custody and will head back to Italy. 

"It's amazing," O'Brien said. "It's wonderful that it's going back to where it belongs." 

Preservation in Print editor Daniel Monteverde told Fox News Digital this was one of the most unique stories he's seen in the Big Easy in his two decades of reporting.

He added, "I'm glad this artifact was found by someone who had the right background to know it was something special and to get it into the hands of the people who could vet it - and, ultimately, return it to its rightful owner."