There was a small strip of open ground between the portico and the temple. We do not know how it was used since the temple was excavated by unskilled amateur archeologists. We just know that there was a statue of Bacchus at the back of the temple, two small fountains along the sides of the temple, and the "remains of plant material" in the area. In her famous book, The Gardens of Pompeii, Francis Jarelsoski argues that this area contained a garden of medicinal herbs, many from Egypt and the Near East. The priests of Isis were renown for their skill in growing herbs and concocting herbal remedies. In addition, the aroma of the herbs and the sounds of the splashing fountains would have added to the oasis like effect of the temple compound.