A robotic pooch built by Boston Dynamics to help archeologists in many ways, SPOT will spend most of the days wandering around Pompeii identifying structural and safety issues.

Pompeii is a delicate site, and in 2013 UNESCO almost placed it under the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger.

Not only are the ruins in need of constant monitoring for various forms of degradation, but over the years it's also been lousy with graverobbers, or tombaroli who skip the line to visit the site and opt for digging long tunnels underneath Pompeii to unearth artifacts to sell to the global antiquities market.

"Today, thanks to collaboration with high-tech companies and in the wake of these successful experiments, we wish to test the use of these robots in the underground tunnels that were made by illegal excavators and which we are uncovering in the area around Pompeii," said Pompeii Director General Gabriel Zuchtriegel.