Roman mosaic with names of a cat and dog found in Turkey
In the ancient city of Adramyttion on Turkey’s Aegean coast, archaeologists have discovered a Roman floor mosaic about 1,800 years old. Researchers suggest that it may have been dedicated to the pets of a wealthy villa owner — a dog named Ocean and a cat named Smaragd.
Mosaic in the reception hall
The mosaic was found during recent excavations in the villa’s main reception hall, which is dated to the late 2nd to 3rd centuries CE. The panel, measuring about 5 by 3.6 meters, is located in the center of the main North Hall, where it was seen by guests arriving at the residence.
As Asharq Al-Awsat reports, the composition consists of 15 panels arranged in three rows. They depict birds, fish, felines, as well as mythological and emblematic figures, including a winged horse, a pygmy figure, and the head of Medusa.
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Animal names on the panels
One of the panels depicts a dog running or jumping, with the inscription “ΩΚΕΑΝΟΣ” — “Ocean” — laid out beneath it in Greek letters. The cat and dog panels are the only animal depictions in the mosaic that have names. The light-colored cat was positioned to the left of the hall entrance, while the dog was to the right.
Hüseyin Murat Özgen, the author of a forthcoming study for the Journal of Mosaic Research, noted that the craftsmen used a rich palette of red, orange, black, white, blue, green, yellow, and burgundy tesserae. Scholars point out that a similar set of images was widespread in North Africa. They also suggest that the dog’s name may have been connected to the port character of Adramyttion, while the cat’s name may have reflected the villa owner’s connection to Roman Egypt, where emeralds were mined in antiquity.
