Roman Pet Monkeys Evaluated

WARSAW, POLAND—Analysis of monkey remains unearthed at the Roman port of Berenice on Egypt’s Red Sea Coast has identified the animals as rhesus macaques, bonnet macaques, and one grivet—all animals from southern India or the Indus Valley in northern India, IFL Science reports. Marta Osypińska of the University of Wrocław, Piotr Osypiński of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and Iwona Zych of the University of Warsaw suggest that these monkeys were kept as pets by Roman elites, probably army officers, in the first and second centuries A.D. Monkey remains unearthed at other Roman sites have been identified as North African Barbary macaques, making the Berenice pets the first known to have been imported from a region outside the Roman Empire. One was found buried with the remains of a piglet, a pair of large sea shells, a woven basket, and a piece of folded cloth resembling a rag doll. Another macaque at Berenice was found with the remains of a puppy and a kitten, and a third had a tomb marker. Yet signs of malnutrition in the animals' bones indicate that their Roman owners struggled to provide for their pets despite the signs of special treatment. For more on the initial discovery of Berenice's animal necropolis, go to "Around the World: Egypt."