We’re looking for dogs in our archaeology collection!
This Roman Republican silver coin shows a famous scene from the Odyssey. The Greek hero Odysseus was away for 20 years, and was recognised by his faithful hound Argus on his return.
Just like today there, were a number of different breeds of dog in ancient Greece and Rome and they were used in hunting, shepherding, guarding the home and even in war. Dogs as pets were rare because only the elite could afford to keep them.
A dog might be used as a sacrifice to accompany the spirit of someone who had died to the afterlife. There is a fine ancient Greek tombstone in our collection Manchester Museum. It shows a man with a small dog pulling at his robes.
Dog skeletons have been found during archaeological excavations. But there are other traces of our four-legged friends... We have a roof tile with paw print made in the soft clay. Having been fired in a kiln, the hardened clay has preserved the print clay for 2,000-years!
A moving example is the cast of the body of a dog from Pompeii. The dog was suffocated during the eruption. As its body decayed, a void was created in the hardened ash. Archaeologists filled such voids with wet plaster. When it hardened they excavated and revealed the body cast.
