Rare 1,800-Year-Old Roman Mosaic May Honor an Owner’s Beloved Cat and Dog

A Roman villa in Türkiye may preserve a wealthy owner’s tribute to two beloved pets: a dog named Ocean and a cat named Emerald.

Archaeologists found the colorful mosaic during excavations at the ancient city of Adramytteion on Türkiye’s Aegean coast. It lay in the villa’s main reception area, a position that would have placed the artwork directly before arriving visitors. The villa dates from the late second to third centuries AD.

The mosaic measures about 5 meters by 3.6 meters and fills the center of the main North Hall. Its 15 panels, arranged in three rows, depict birds, fish, felines and other animals, alongside images that appear to include Medusa and Pegasus. The artists used a rich range of colored tesserae, including red, orange, black, white, blue, green, yellow and burgundy.

One panel shows a running or leaping dog with the Greek letters “ΩΚΕΑΝΟΣ,” meaning “Ocean,” beneath it. A pale cat appears in another panel, likely the first image noticed by someone entering the room, while the dog appears on the opposite side. They are the only animals in the mosaic that carry names.

Archaeologist and study author Huseyin Murat Ozgen said the imagery combined animals with emblematic and mythological elements. Researchers note that the repertoire was especially common in North Africa. They suspect Ocean’s name may reflect Adramytteion’s history as a harbor city, while Emerald could suggest the villa owner had links to Roman Egypt, where emeralds were mined in antiquity.

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The figural repertoire varied, combining animal imagery, particularly birds, together with emblematic and mythological elements, including a winged horse, a pygmy figure, a Medusa head, and representations of domesticated and wild animals, as well as a fish.