We are pleased to announce the publication of an article co-authored by Prof. Marta Osypińska in the prestigious Journal of Roman Archaeology, entitled: Centurion’s monkey? Companion animals for the social elite in an Egyptian port on the fringes of the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd c. CE. The paper discusses a fascinating discovery from the port of Berenike—the remains of an animal interpreted as a companion of a member of the social elite, shedding new light on everyday life and status-related aspects of the Egyptian port during the period of the Roman Empire.

The research demonstrates that the presence of ‘companions’ such as monkeys may have constituted an element of the display of prestige and local cultural identity, while at the same time serving as evidence of extensive trade contacts and the mobility of people and animals within the Empire. The article offers a new perspective on social relations, the economy, and the ecology of life in port centres beyond the traditional core of the Roman world, while at the same time providing the first zooarchaeological evidence for the trade in live animals from India to the Roman world.

We warmly invite you to read the article!