Ara Romae et Augusti
About
Altar to the cult of Roma and Augustus dedicated in 12 BCE at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, the ritual and political center of the Concilium Galliarum -- the annual gathering of representatives from the 60 civitates of the Three Gauls to elect the high priest of the imperial cult (the first was Gaius Julius Vercondaridubnus, an Aeduan) and celebrate games. Continuously in use throughout the early Empire, including 117 CE. Located adjacent to (and administratively linked with) the Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls built nearby a generation later; exact footprint of the altar precinct itself is only approximately reconstructed archaeologically, hence medium rather than high confidence on the point location.
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
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 →