Temple of Isis
About
A small temple to Isis stood beside where Bulla Regia's theater would later rise, built in the 1st century against the line of an older Numidian wall. Seven steps climbed to its podium, leading through a pronaos into a cella flanked by six columns on each side. Roman builders repaired the shrine decades after Trajan's reign, well past this map's snapshot. By 11 August 117 this modest temple had already stood for generations.
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
- Institut National du Patrimoine (INP) Tunisia: 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 →