Turkey: 1,500-year-old house with puppy paw prints and wall illusion discovered

Archaeologists in Turkey recently uncovered paw prints belonging to a dog embedded in the floor of a house dating some 1,500 years. According to a research published in Live Science, the canine likely stepped on a terra cotta tile that was drying before being fired in a kiln and placed on the floor. The archaeologists also uncovered a goat’s hoof print in another tile, as well as the outline of a chicken made with someone’s fingers and a plaster wall painted to look like marble and draped curtains. 

During a virtual presentation at the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and the Society for Classical Studies (SCS), Frances Gallart Marqués said, “The tiles with paw prints of a dog seem to be pressed into the material of the tiles. These tiles have preserved the paw prints of dogs and a hoofprint of a goat”. 

(Image: @Sarah404BC/Twitter)

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House belonged 5th-century family 

The recent discovery was uncovered in the remains of a house belonging to an important fifth-century family in Sardis, which is an excavation site in western Turkey. Marqués said that the “fanciful” design aesthetic was found in the house which was in use for over 200 years before being destroyed by an earthquake in the early seventh century. Further, he suggested that the drawings depicting chickens or ducks were “finger-drawn before the tiles were fired”. 

(Image: @Sarah404BC/Twitter)

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According to the research, the floor tiles seem to be matching well with the overall decor of the house, based on the paintings and decor items recovered from the walls. The archaeologists noted that the wall paintings were painted on plaster and had mimic draped curtains and polychrome marble. They also believe that the house might have belonged to people involved with the military of the time based on other objects recovered. 

Apart from paw prints, the archaeologists found five-longswords that suggest the owners were involved in warfare. Buckles with military-style emblems and a lead seal likely for official documents were also discovered from the house. It is worth mentioning that Sardis was an ancient city located in modern-day Sart in Turkey’s western Manisa Province, some 270 miles from Istanbul. 

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