3 October 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

New research, prove that Romans were breeding small bulldogs

Researchers have proven that breeding small brachycephalic (shorter-nosed) dogs took place already in ancient Rome. Research on a 2,000 years old dog skull indicates that the dog resembled a French bulldog.

Analyzing the remains of a canine skull at a Roman-era site in Türkiye, researchers have determined that the ancient pooch had a brachycephalic skull similar to that of a French Bulldog.

In 2007, dog bones were found in the ruins of the ancient Tralleis, near the Turkish city of Aydın. The find was incomplete, and due to the poor condition of the remains no one paid much attention to it for many years. In 2021, the bones caught the attention of Professor Aleksander Chrószcz and Dr. Dominik Poradowski from the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences and a team of researchers from Istanbul University led by Professor Vedat Onar.

‘Fortunately, the skull was not so damaged or fragmented to prevent its measurements, and this research is an important part of our investigation because taking measurements allows to compare it with other results of archaeozoological research, and with bone material from modern animals. We conducted craniometry, or in the simplest terms, we determined measurement points on the bones of the skull and based on these points, we not only managed to determine the value of individual measurements, but also compare them with contemporary, testable dog skull craniometry results’, says Professor Aleksander Chrószcz.

Photo: Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

He adds that due to the state of preservation of the remains (measuring the length of the skull was not possible), the researchers relied on other measurements, including the area of the base of the skull, the tympanic cavity, the teeth and palate.

‘In this case, there was no doubt that it was the skull of a brachycephalic (short-nosed) dog, and a relatively small one. The analysis of the preserved and measurable parts of the animal’s skeleton and the skeletons of dogs of modern breeds shows that it was most likely an animal that was lower at the withers than the well-known, also short-nosed Molossian hounds, whose pedigree originating from ancient Hellas is beyond doubt’, says Professor Aleksander Chrószcz.

He emphasizes that in order to make sure that scientists were dealing with such an ancient find, a radiocarbon dating procedure was carried out at a reputable, reference laboratory in the United States.

Photo: Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

‘The discovery of the remains of a dog with this anatomy brings us valuable information. Scientists have been able to prove that in Ancient Rome, Molossian hounds were not the only known brachycephalic dogs. It would not be new information if not for the fact that this animal was much smaller, and its morphology more similar to that of a French bulldog, a modern companion dog. It was supposed to accompany its guardian, sharing a fairly comfortable life, instead of being a working dog often mentioned in the available Roman literature, we read in the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences press release.

According to the release, the animal was probably cared for not only during its life, but also after death. Skeletal examinations showed that the quadruped was treated exceptionally well, which distinguishes it from other discovered remains of working dogs.

Photo: Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences

‘Someone must have loved this dog, because most they likely they ordered to be buried with it. This means that the love between humans and animals is not a modern invention’, concludes the scientist from the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences.

PAP

Banner
Related Post

2,000-year-old Celtic hoard of gold ‘rainbow cups’ discovered in northeastern Germany

13 January 2022

13 January 2022

Archaeologists have found an ancient Celtic coins treasure consisting of 41 gold coins in a field in Brandenburg, a state...

Britain’s oldest decoratively piece of carved wood discovered in a layer of peat

8 June 2023

8 June 2023

A heavily notched oak timber found in a peat layer during construction work turned out to be the oldest piece...

An important Gallo-Roman worship complex was discovered near Rennes, France

13 June 2022

13 June 2022

An essential Gallo-Roman worship complex was unearthed by Inrap  (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research) archaeologists at Chapelle-des-Fougeretz (Ille-et-Vilaine), near...

The World’s Oldest Smiling Water Flask with Emoji will be on display

4 July 2021

4 July 2021

After the collapse of the Hittite Empire, the Late Hittite States was established in Anatolia and Syria. One of these...

Ancient Synagogue found in Turkey’s popular tourist center Side

27 December 2021

27 December 2021

A 7th-century ancient synagogue has been found in Side, a resort town on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. The synagogue found was...

18,000 years ago, late Pleistocene humans may have hatched and raised the “World’s Most Dangerous Bird.”

2 October 2021

2 October 2021

Researchers say the eggshell is an understudied archaeological material that has the potential to clarify past interactions between humans and...

The ancient city of Karkamış “House of the Seal” brings a different perspective to the Hittite-Assyrian relations with its important finds

6 May 2022

6 May 2022

Historical artifacts discovered during excavations by Turkish and Italian teams in the ancient city of Karkamış (Carchemish) in southern Gaziantep...

A hungry Badger uncovers the largest collection of such coins ever discovered in northern Spain

11 January 2022

11 January 2022

Archaeologists have uncovered a rich trove of 209 Roman-era coins in northwestern Spain, due to the apparent efforts of a...

Hundreds Of Mummified Bees inside their Cocoons from the Time of the Pharaohs found in Portugal

25 August 2023

25 August 2023

Hundreds of mummified bees inside their cocoons have been found on the southwest coast of Portugal, in a new paleontological...

Fossil found at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau reveals an owl active during the day 6 million years ago

29 March 2022

29 March 2022

The incredibly well-preserved fossil skeleton of an extinct owl that lived was discovered on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau,...

Rare ivory plaques from First Temple Period were discovered in Jerusalem

8 September 2022

8 September 2022

An extraordinary find was made in Jerusalem: an assemblage of ivory plaques from the First Temple period, one of only...

Türkiye’s Neolithic Settlement Çayönü Hill Discovered New Tombs from Early Bronze Age

4 September 2023

4 September 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed 5 more tombs dating to the Early Bronze Age during the recent excavations on Çayönü Hill in...

Archaeologists have found a fort that the Romans built to protect their silver mines, complete with wooden spikes

23 February 2023

23 February 2023

Archaeologists have discovered wooden defenses surrounding an ancient Roman military base for the first time in Bad Ems, western Germany....

5,700-Year-old Ancient “Chewing Gum” Gives Information About People and Bacteria of the Past

4 April 2021

4 April 2021

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have successfully extracted the complete human genome from “chewing gum” thousands of years ago....

10,000-year-old Sculptures and Figurines holding Phallus of the Taş Tepeler in the southeast Turkey

17 June 2022

17 June 2022

One of the common features of male depictions with similar features found in the region called Taş Tepeler (Stone Hills),...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *