India, Dec. 11 -- High-ranking Roman officers owned pets from India, a new study has claimed, after researchers uncovered burials of Indian macaques in an ancient cemetery in what used to be a famous Red Sea port two thousand years ago.

The authors of the study analysed 35 monkey burials in an animal cemetery in Berenike on the east coast of Egypt. They were dated to be from the first and second centuries Common Era, a time when high-ranking Roman military officers lived in the region.

According to the researchers, the primates were found buried among other companion animals like cats and dogs. Their special status is suggested given that they had restraining collars, apparent status markers like iridescent shells and food delicacies bu...