Capitol of Bulla Regia
About
The Capitol crowned the west side of Bulla Regia's forum, a podium roughly 16 meters long dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. Hadrian's reign funded its construction after the town won colonial status and the name Colonia Aelia Hadriana Augusta Bulla Regia. Steps once led worshippers up to a triple cella overlooking the civic square below. Trajan died on 11 August 117, before ground broke on this temple.
What happened here
The building itself is a house for the god, and most people never go inside. Everything public happens on the steps and at the altar in front: an animal led up, examined, killed cleanly, its organs read, the meat divided and eaten. The priest covers his head and a flute player keeps up a noise so no ill-omened word is heard. Worshippers leave what they can afford — a terracotta figure, a coin, a model of the body part they want healed — and the accumulated clutter is periodically cleared and buried on site. On festival days the doors are opened and the cult statue is dressed, garlanded, and sometimes carried out through the streets. The temple also holds money, which is why towns keep their treasury in one.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Bulla Regia
Nearby
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →