Stolen Funerary Artefact Returns to Ad Decimum Catacombs

Yesterday, a homecoming took place in Grottaferrata, Italy, marking the final passage in the return of an important marble funerary artefact. This ancient epigraphic fragment offers its readers a glimpse into the burial practices and religious life of Italy's early Christian communities and was stolen in 1989 from the Ad Decimum Catacombs.

Nestled within the Roman countryside, the Ad Decimum Catacombs were discovered by chance in 1905, when the land above the subterranean gallery, collapsed under a plough working on a vineyard.  The site holds some 1000 early Christian burials dating from the 2nd to the 5th century CE.  Most are simple recesses, while others speak more vividly to the people whose remains where placed here, along the 10th Roman mile marker on the Via Latina.  

While humidity and time have worn off many of the painted images inside the catacombs, the site itself still remains extremely thought provoking, with unique reminders of the lives of those resting there.  Wandering inside visitors can still make out some of the textual messages left behind by loved ones, including one from Ilaro to his brother, which clearly reads:“To my dearest brother Marciano. Ilaro made peace”, making scholars wonder just what kind of feud the brothers were involved in when Marciano was laid to rest so many centuries ago.

The returning fragment celebrated over the weekend is etched in Greek by a grieving husband for his 22-year-old wife, telling us its own poignant story, and reminding visitors of the human emotions tied to these long-gone lives.

Her epitaph, which contains one of the earliest written references to Christ, reads:  

“Be of good cheer Musena Irene, your soul is immortal with Christ.” 

Identified by the Operational Department - Archaeology Section of the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the fragment was identified after it had been loaned by a foundation patron to the Museum Catharijneconvent, in the former St. Catharine convent in Utrecht by a foundation to the Dutch museum of religious art.  

Thankfully, and with the help of excellent Italian-Dutch cooperation between all interested parties, Musena Irene's departing message from her husband is now back where it belongs.  Transferred from the Dutch to the Italian authorities in November 2023, the fragment initially toured with dozens of other recovered artefacts in an exhibition celebrating the return of objects from abroad curated by the Carabinieri of the Cultural Heritage Protection Command at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Farnesina in the city of Rome. 

This week, the final leg of its journey was completed with a celebratory ceremony back at the catacombs, attended by key figures from Italy and the Netherlands, including Mons. Pasquale Iacobone, President of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, H.E. Annemieke Ruigrok, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Holy See, Colonel Paolo Befera, Commander of the Carabinieri Operations Department for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Lisette Voss, Senior Public Prosecutor, Fons van Gessel, Policy Advisor for Public Order and Safety, Sergeant Peter Veltman, National Police of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Warrent Officer Major Monica Satta, Carabinieri TPC, and Prof. Mirko Di Bernardo, the Mayor of Grottaferrata. 

The return event included brief speeches by several of the authorities present, as well as the final unveiling of the recovered inscription, (restored for the occasion) alongside a visit to the Ad Decimum catacombs.  This allowed attendees to witness firsthand why its important that funerary remains to go back to their intended sites (when security is sufficient) as they serve as a reminder of the enduring connections between history, heritage, and the places that preserve them.