Seemed lame to me too. It was obvious the door was obstructed by piles of rock.
Opening the doors and finding the portal behind it, it felt really buggy.
There was an occasion where I tried placing a pyramid behind some grating and it didn't work. It was somewhere in Hiberheim I think. But in the temple you suddenly can. Very frustrating.
I encountered an annoying bug in this temple as well, with a door which appeared open but I couldn't pass through it. When mouse-overed the icon showed it was locked.
Overall the temple was my least favourite part of the game by far. In my second playthrough I just went straight for the candles, since I knew which to ignite. >_>
Hopefully it'll get some dev attention.
