Ancient Worship: Bird Remains in Prehistoric Temple of Isis Suggest Ancient Romans May Have Offered These Creatures as Sacrifices to the Goddess

Upon conducting excavations at a prehistoric Temple of Isis in Pompeii, archaeologists were able to find several bird remains that point to a ritual banquet of some sort. These birds could have been eaten, possibly to soothe the deity after the downsizing of the temple.

Bird Remains and Ancient Worship

According to Live Science, these findings show how significant birds were when it came to the ancient worship of Isis.

Archaeologist Chiara Corbino from the Institute of Heritage Science in Italy explains that the ritual may have been conducted by three Isis priests within one day. It may have been done to placate the deity over the temple's shrinking.

Worship of the goddess Isis became established across Roman society during the first century A.D. This was documented further in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.

Pompeii, on the other hand, used to be a prolific Roman resort city that was destroyed by the Mount Vesuvius eruption in A.D. 79. The city got buried under volcanic ash that had a rough thickness of up to 20 feet. The buried area has been a progressive excavation subject in order to know more about the times of the early Romans.

Corbino explains that renovations could have followed after the temple was damaged by an earthquake in A.D. 62. This means that the ritual banquet could have happened anytime between this year and the devastating eruption in A.D. 79.

Through excavations, archaeologists were able to uncover the burned remains of a goose, a turtle dove, at least eight chickens, two clams, and a pig. Live Science adds that meat parts may have been cooked and consumed by the priests, while the others would have been left on the floor to serve as offerings for the goddess.

Historian and professor emeritus Jan Bremmer from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, who did not participate in the study, explains that the offerings of geese and chicken show that Isis may not have been prominent during the time of the sacrifice. More prominent deities received other important animal sacrifices, including cattle.

However, regardless of the sacrificed species, these animals were usually killed as part of a ceremony as prayers were sung or recited. Their meat was often burned and offered to the deity, while the rest would be cooked and consumed by the priest or sacrifice sponsors.

Isis Believers

According to Britannica, Isis was one of ancient Egypt's most important goddesses. Isis also went by Eset or Aset during this time. Initially, Isis was quite obscure and lacked specialized temples of her own. However, her prominence and importance grew alongside the progression of the dynastic age. Later on, she became one of ancient Egypt's most essential deities.

Live Science reports that the cult of Isis spread from Egypt all the way to Greece. It later became part of Roman society during the B.C. first century.

Archaeologist and historian Sabine Deschler-Erb from the University of Basel in Switzerland, who did not participate in the study, explains that trader, administrator, and soldier mobility across the Roman Empire may have fostered the proliferation of Eastern religions, including that of the Isis cult.

Because these rituals were secretive and could not be documented, they can only be discovered through archaeology. Currently, such remains have only been spotted across Germany, Spain, and Greece. These Pompeii findings are the first archaeozoological examination of an Isis temple in Italy.

Live Science also adds that Isis was commonly depicted using bird wings. Some archaeologists also think that the goddess could have been a bird deity at some point, similar to the Egyptian deity Horus, who has a falcon head.

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