Spot, built by Boston Dynamics, moves very much like its animal prototype but also has onboard technology such as a 3D scanner, which transmits what it "sees and hears." Officials at the Archaeological Park of Pompeii expect the 50-pound Spot to alert them if it finds signs of erosion or damage.

One prime cause of concern that Spot could address directly is the continuing presence of looting at the 1,900-year-old site. Archaeologists are still finding new things at the site (like a snack bar and a nearly intact chariot), and looters are still digging tunnels in order to spirit away things yet unfound. Officials expect Spot to investigate such tunnels, which can often be unsafe for humans to traverse.

It was at almost precisely noon on August 24, 79, that nearby Mount Vesuvius, a volcano that been quiet for hundreds of years, suddenly spewed forth a huge explosion that rocked the countryside for a huge number of miles around and creating a mushroom cloud of ash and debris 10 miles high. Fire and debris rained on Pompeii, and most people fled. A few, perhaps as many as 2,000, stayed, hoping that things wouldn't get any worse. It did. The very next morning, a cloud of toxic gas, fumes from the volcano, wafted through the city, killing all who breathed it. A rockslide followed, burying the dead where they lay.

The ruins of Pompeii are one of the world's most popular archaeological sites, inspiring hundreds of thousands of people to visit each year. Previous digs have unearthed many treasures, now hanging in museums. One of the most famous of the murals unearthed was the Latin warning Cave Canem, which in English is "Beware of the Dog."