DOI: 10.33547/Aegypt2025.07
Egyptian deities in Novae
by: Piotr Dyczek 
in: M.A. Jucha, J. Dębowska-Ludwin, G. Bąk-Pryc (eds), Per vias Aegypti et Orientis Medii. Studies Presented to Krzysztof M. Ciałowicz, Kraków: Institute of Archaeology Jagiellonian University, Archaeologica Foundation, Profil-Archeo Publishing House, 2025, pp. 77-86.
Abstract: Excavations of the legionary fortress of the First Italic Legion in Novae on the Danube in northern Bulgaria yielded artifacts connected with the cult of Oriental and more specifically Egyptian deities: figurines of Serapis, Isis and Harpocrates, inscriptions dedicated to Serapis and Isis, and even a relief with a representation of Serapis in bust form. The finds come from four different places inside the fortress: the so-called villa extra muros, the porta decumana gate, House of the Centurion of the First Italica’s I Cohors, and the army hospital (valetudinarium). All of them were created most probably in the end of the 2nd century CE or at the beginning of the 3rd, with year 238 as a terminus ante quem because of the damnatio memoriae suffered by the legion at that time. The greater part of these objects came from the hospital suggesting a medical aspect. The finds also indicate a possible temple to Isis and perhaps also Serapis located somewhere in the near vicinity of the fortress. A closer analysis of the finds and their archaeological contexts highlights those aspects of the Egyptian cults that had the greatest significance for the legionaries.