Archaeologists in Turkey have uncovered a floor mosaic that names a cat and a dog. The villa sits under Adramyttion, an ancient Greek port on the Aegean, at Ören in Balıkesir province.
The house itself is Roman-period, from the late second to the third century AD. It has three large halls. The main reception mosaic measures about 5 by 3.6 metres and splits into 15 panels. Most show birds, fish and big cats, plus a gorgon thought to be Medusa and a winged horse that may be Pegasus.
To the left of the entrance a cat sits on a blue-green cushion. The name Emerald is written above it in Greek. Opposite, a dog runs or leaps beside the Greek word Ocean. Greek lettering on a Roman-era floor is typical of the eastern empire: the city stayed Greek-speaking under Roman rule.
Hüseyin Murat Özgen, who leads the Adramyttion team at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul, says the animals were probably familiar to the household and may have been pets. The cat’s pose on the cushion supports that reading. He links Emerald to the Roman emerald trade from Egypt and Ocean to the city’s role as a port.
Özgen has directed work at the site since 2012. The team excavated the villa in 2025 and early 2026. The winged horse echoes a motif on Adramyttion’s fourth-century BC coins. Pygmy and bird scenes recall North African mosaics, so he suggests a merchant with ties there. The owner is still unnamed. Digging continues.
