Temple of Saturn
About
Thuburbo Maius worshipped Baal Hammon on a hill above the town long before Rome arrived; the standing Roman temple that replaced the Punic shrine dates only to the 2nd or 3rd century CE, when the old god was renamed Saturn. Its hilltop position gave the sanctuary a commanding view over the entire settlement below. The renaming pattern repeated at towns across Roman Africa. In 117 CE a Punic-style shrine still occupied this spot, not the Roman temple whose walls survive.
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
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 →