EGYPT: Under Roman rule, the Red Sea port of Berenice blossomed into an important trade hub, connecting Africa with India during the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. Excavation of an animal necropolis revealed that along with spices, textiles, and luxury goods, rhesus macaques were also imported from across the Indian Ocean, to be kept as household pets. The skeletons of more than a dozen of the Indian monkeys were found carefully buried, some surrounded by grave goods and positioned like sleeping children.