A temple dedicated to Isis in Italy..........Isis is an Egyptian goddess..........


The excavations began in 1748, under King Charles of Bourbon, as a way of increasing the fame and prestige of his Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
The digging proceeded sporadically, without a well-defined plan, and only a few years later was the site actually identified as Pompeii. A part of the necropolis outside Porta Ercolano was dug up, together with the Temple of Isis and part of the theatres quarter.
During the French occupation, in early 1800, activity expanded over the site, but gradually slowed again when the Bourbons were restored to throne. Works were concentrated on the area of the amphitheatre and the Forum, as well as around Porta Ercolano and the theatres district. The discovery of the House of the Faun, containing the large mosaic depicting Alexander the Great in Battle, caught the imagination of people all over Europe.

Following the Unification of Italy in 1861, the designation of Giuseppe Fiorelli as director marked a turning-point in the excavations process. Since then the site has been explored systematically, its different sections connected, and detailed records of the activities produced and maintained. The city's wall paintings have been left on site, rather than being detached and placed in a museum exhibit. Fiorelli also pioneered the practice of using plaster casts to reveal the silhouettes of some of the eruption's victims.

From the early 20th Century, the excavations moved eastwards along the ancient town's principal streets, and more attention was paid to buildings' upper-floor remains. From 1924 to 1961, the excavations were supervised by Amedeo Maiuri, who oversaw a period of intense activity that included the discovery of prestigious buildings, such as the Villa of Mysteries; the complete recognition of the ancient town's perimeter; the excavation of most of Regions I and II and the necropolis of Porta Nocera; and the initiation of a methodical exploration of the layers below the 79 A.D. level, in order to bring to light the past of ancient Pompeii.
In recent years, excavations have been scaled down so as to concentrate the limited resources available (not sufficient even to fulfill this goal) on restoring and maintaining the buildings which have already been exposed.