Among the silent ruins of Pompeii, where time seems to have stopped in 79 AD, there is an image that strikes the heart more than many statues or frescoes: the cast of a dog. Immortalized in its last desperate attempt to escape the eruption of Vesuvius.
The cast is not just an archaeological find; it is a universal symbol of tragedy, broken everyday life, and loyalty. It did not belong to a hero or a famous person, but to an ordinary family, like so many others who lived in the city. This is where its emotional power lies: it tells a simple story that everyone can understand, even two thousand years later.
A story that was not erased by the terrible eruption of Vesuvius, but was preserved thanks to its ashes. And thanks also to those who worked tirelessly to reconstruct, piece by piece, one of the best-preserved Roman cities in the world. It is thanks to the work of one of these archaeologists that we can now see one of the most famous casts in the world.
How the cast of the dog was made
The cast of the dog from Pompeii was made in 1874 during archaeological excavations by Giuseppe Fiorelli, the archaeologist who revolutionized the way Pompeii was studied. Fiorelli realized that the voids left in the solidified ash were not simply cavities, but the imprints of bodies that had disappeared. He therefore filled those voids with liquid plaster, giving shape to human and animal figures that had been trapped at the moment of death.
Among these, the dog emerged: contorted, with stiffened legs and a muzzle bent in an expression of suffering that still leaves us breathless today.
The process is as simple as it is ingenious. After the eruption, the bodies of living beings decomposed over time, leaving empty spaces in the hardened ash layer. Archaeologists identified these cavities and poured plaster into them. Once solidified, the plaster reproduced the exact shape of the body in its last moment of life, including the ropes that tied the dog to its collar.
It is this detail that makes the cast even more poignant: the dog was tied up, probably guarding the house, and could not escape when the rain of lapilli and toxic gases arrived.
Where was the dog from Pompeii found?
The dog of Pompeii was found in Orpheus’ house to the right of the entrance where it was tied up, during the excavation of the atrium and surrounding rooms.
He would have tried everything to free himself from the tight chain around his neck. He writhed with his back on the ground and his legs raised upward, but the ashes suffocated him in a matter of moments.
Tried in vain to climb out of the thick rain of ash and lapilli that quickly invaded the house from the opening of the compliuvium. But the chain around his neck probably prevented him from escaping to safety.
It is precisely in the exact position of death that this poignant cast can be admired. Teeth, paws, and the bronze ring of the collar are all perfectly clear and visible.
Where to admire the cast of the dog
The cast of the dog from Pompeii is currently on display in the Boscoreale Antiquarium. In addition to the cast of the dog, this small museum also houses casts of human bodies and a horse found in the villa of Civita Giuliana, as well as a cast of a pig. But that’s not all: numerous artifacts found in Pompeii and in the villas of Boscoreale are also on display here.
