The location of this Roman-era temple is something of a mystery but some key archaeological finds suggest there was a house of worship located in Southwark dedicated to Isis in the city which was known as Londinium.

Roman columns in Jordan – but what did the Temple of Isis look like in Londonium? PICTURE: Hannah Wernecke/Unsplash

Isis was a popular deity during the Roman era so to find such a temple in a Roman city would not be surprising.

Among the finds which point to the temple’s existence is the Southwark flagon, a single-handled terracotta vessel dating from the 1st century found on Tooley Street near London Bridge which features the graffito ‘Londini ad fanum Isidis (“At the Temple of Isis, London”).

Further evidence can be found in a 3rd century Roman altar which was reused in a riverside wall (and discovered in 1975). Referring to the rebuilding of the temple by Governor Marcus Martiannius Pulcher, it bears the inscription that “Marcus Martianius Pulcher, senator, imperial propraetorian legate, ordered the restoration of the temple of Isis which had collapsed from…age.”

There are also numerous smaller finds which depict Isis including a lead weight and a silver statuette of her son Harpokrates.

London is said to be the only site in what was Roman Britain where evidence of the cult of Isis has been found.