Ancient Roman officers may have kept pet monkeys to highlight their status

Roman military officers kept monkeys as companions – and gave them their own pets

Remains in an ancient cemetery provide first physical proof of live animal trade from India to Roman Egypt

Roman generals gifted kittens and piglets to their pet monkeys

Elites in Ancient Rome went to great lengths to advertise their status and wealth. Based on recent archaeological excavations in Egypt, at least some high-ranking military officials even showed off with their choice of pets. In the Journal of Roman Archaeology, researchers at Poland’s University of Warsaw described a nearly 2,000-year-old animal cemetery in the Egyptian port city of Berenike that includes the remains of multiple macaque monkeys.…

Ancient Roman officers may have kept pet monkeys to highlight their status

There were many ways in which the elites of ancient Roman society flaunted their wealth. They built vast villas, sponsored extravagant games and imported luxury goods. And military top brass, at least those stationed at an Egyptian port, may have advertised their status with a pet monkey at their side. That's one of the insights from the analysis of 35 monkey burials in an ancient animal cemetery in Berenike on the east coast of Egypt.

Roman officers kept a surprising pet as a symbol of their status

2,000 years ago, if you were a high-flying Roman officer, you may have kept a rather unusual animal as a pet. Archaeologists excavating an ancient ani...