Szombathely - Iseum

In the 1st-2nd centuries ad the worship of oriental deities spread through the Roman empire; the Egyptian Isis cult was especially popular. The Isis temple in Savaria was founded in 188, extended in the 3rd C and destroyed by an earthquake in 455; it was excavated in 1958-59 and prepared in 1961-63. The site consisted of several interconnected colonnades with the altar in the center (indicated by a pedestal in the lower lying area). Behind it lay the inner sanctum, its portico has been restored; the timbers contain remains of reliefs from the 2nd C (Isis riding on her dog Sothis, with a sistrum in her hand; Victoria with the inscription "The exalted holy Isis"; Fortuna, Mars, Hercules among others).