Friday, September 9, 2022

GERMANY ~ Sanctuary of Isis & Magna Mater - Mainz ~

... Nice panoromic view of the foundations of the Isis and Mater Magna temple... discovered by chance during excavation work for a new shopping mall (the Römerpassage mall, which actually derived its name from this find; Römer meaning Roman) in 2000... this almost made construction of the mall impossible, because you can’t just destroy such a rare find... but what the planners did, they simply built the mall on top of the temple... so now there is a museum in the mall’s basement where you can visit the temple and learn why it’s so unusual and how it came to be there... the sanctuary is thought to have been a place of worship dedicated to the ancient Egyptian deity Isis and the Roman Magna Mater... the temple was probably used until the 3rd century AD and gives visitors a unique insight into the religious cults of the Romans... with lovely stamps and as always great first day postmarks👍... Thanks a lot Dustin!【ツ】

© 2015 Photo: Klaus Benz, Mainz

Mainz  is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is a port on the left bank of the Rhine River.

Founded as a military post (Castrum Mogontiacum) in the first century BC, over the centuries Mainz rose to be the capital of one of the most influential states of the Holy Roman Empire, the Electorate of Mainz.

Apart from the more than 300 oil lamps found around the temple, excavations also brought to light many offerings such as dates, figs, pine nuts and cereal grains that were burnt on the altars. Chicken bones testify of animal sacrifices at the temple. Among the recovered statuettes are a pair of lovers entwined in a tight embrace, a Venus figure, a bull with a sacrificial blindfold and a bronze representation of Mercury holding a drawstring purse.



 


Stamps:

World of Letters
(Issued 04-08-2022)

No comments:

Post a Comment