A Dog Still Sits in the Doorway of This Pompeii House

In 79 AD, Roman homes displayed the same warning many houses still use today.

The famous “Cave Canem” (“Beware of the Dog”) mosaic from the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii.

Two thousand years ago, Roman homes displayed the same warning many houses still use today.

Walking through the stone-lined streets of Pompeii, your footsteps echo softly off the ancient walls. The basalt paving stones are worn smooth after centuries of cart wheels and sandals passing over them.

You occasionally notice a small mosaic set into the floor of a house entrance.

A simple image.

A dog.

Underneath it are two Latin words:

CAVE CANEM.

“Beware of the dog.”

Two thousand years ago, many Roman homes had watchdogs guarding their doors.

Dogs were loved companions in Pompeii’s heyday, just as they are today. They guarded homes and shops, barked at strangers, and wandered the streets of the city.

Some Pompeii homes even had iron rings set into the walls or courtyards where watchdogs could be chained during the day.

The famous “Beware of the Dog” mosaic was discovered in the House of the Tragic Poet, one of Pompeii’s most well-known homes.

Many Pompeii homes placed warning mosaics near their entrances to alert visitors to watchdogs inside.

Visitors entering the house would immediately see the warning beneath their feet as they stepped through the narrow doorway.

For anyone thinking about wandering too far inside, the message was clear.

A plaster cast of a dog discovered in Pompeii, likely chained in a courtyard during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

But one of the most famous — and heartbreaking — discoveries in Pompeii is the plaster cast of a dog that had been chained in a courtyard during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

As ash and pumice rained down on the city, the animal struggled against its chain.

When archaeologists later filled the hollow space left in the hardened ash with plaster, the dog’s twisted body revealed its final moments.

Two thousand years ago, dogs guarded the homes of Pompeii’s residents. They barked at strangers, watched over doorways, and waited for their owners to return.

And just like today, they were loyal companions in an often difficult world.

Other Pompeii essays to read:

• The Strange Stones in Pompeii’s Streets

• The Graffiti of Pompeii

• The Day a Gladiator Game Turned Into a Riot in Pompeii

• Pompeii Is Much Larger Than Most People Realize

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