Wealthy Roman Man Who Lived Nearly 2,000 Years Ago Seemingly Commissioned a Mosaic Honoring His Beloved Dog and Cat

The elaborate artwork featured a dog named Ocean and a cat named Emerald

NEED TO KNOW

• Archaeologists uncovered a nearly 2,000-year-old Roman mosaic in Turkey featuring a cat named Emerald and a dog named Ocean
• The two animals were the only creatures in the 15-panel mosaic to be named, suggesting they may have been especially meaningful to the household
• Researchers believe Emerald and Ocean were likely familiar animals in the villa and may have been beloved pets

An ancient Roman man appears to have commissioned an elaborate mosaic honoring two beloved household animals — a cat named Emerald and a dog named Ocean — nearly 2,000 years ago.

Archaeologists recently uncovered the artwork inside the remains of a Roman villa beneath the ancient city of Adramytteion, located along Turkey’s Aegean coast, per a forthcoming study in the Journal of Mosaic Research as detailed in Live Science.

The residence, which dates to approximately the late second or third century A.D., contained three halls arranged around a central courtyard, per the outlet.

One of those spaces was believed to have served as the villa’s main reception room and featured an expansive mosaic made up of 15 individual scenes.

Among the creatures depicted in the artwork were birds, fish, felines and figures drawn from mythology. But only two animals were given names — a detail that suggests they may have held particular significance to the people who lived there, according to the study’s lead author, archaeologist Hüseyin Özgen.

On one side of the room, visitors would have encountered the image of a pale-colored cat resting on a blue-green cushion.

Above the animal were the Greek letters ΖΜΑΡΑΓΔΙΝ, or “Zmaragdin,” meaning “emerald.”

The cat’s relaxed pose — comfortably seated on a cushion — could indicate that Emerald was a cherished household pet rather than an animal that simply wandered onto the property, according to Özgen.

Another panel depicted a dog seemingly caught in motion, either running or leaping.

The canine was identified as ΩΚΕΑΝΟΣ, or “Okeanos,” meaning “ocean.”

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Özgen noted that the name could have been inspired by Adramytteion’s coastal setting. 

Although researchers cannot say with certainty that Emerald and Ocean were pets in the modern sense, Özgen wrote that both animals were likely familiar to the villa’s residents.

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