Rudchester Mithraeum
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Rudchester Mithraeum is a
Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete state. Today they remain "the most obvious symbol of ...
to the
Roman god Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...
Mithras Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is link ...
at Rudchester ( Vindobala), an
auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: * A backup site or system In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of ...
fort on Hadrian's Wall, the northern frontier of
Roman Britain Roman Britain was the period in classical antiquity when large parts of the island of Great Britain were under occupation by the Roman Empire. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. During that time, the territory conquered wa ...
. The temple (known as a
mithraeum A Mithraeum , sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion ( grc, Μιθραίον), is a Mithraic temple, erected in classical antiquity by the worshippers of Mithras. Most Mithraea can be dated between 100 BC and 300 AD, mostly in the Roman Em ...
) was located 137m to the west of the castra. It is not currently visible to visitors to the site.


Discovery

The site of the shrine was first discovered in 1844 when the local farmer uncovered a statue and five altars in his field. The statue was broken up (and subsequently lost); however, the altars were all saved. The five altars were: # .
"To the god. Lucius Sentius Castus, centurion of the 6th legion gave this." # .
To the invincible god Mithras, Publius Aelius Titullus, prefect, gladly, willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow. # .
To the Invincible Sun. Tiberius Claudius Decimus Cornelius Antonius, Prefect, restored the temple. # # No inscription. The location of the discovery was marked on contemporaneous maps, enabling the archaeologist J. P. Gillam to relocate the shrine and excavate it in 1953.J. P. Gillam, I. MacIvor & E. Birley. 1954. "The Temple of Mithras at Rudchester". ''Archaeologia Aeliana'' (4th series) XXXII, 176–219


The Mithraeum Phase I

Gillam identified two distinct phases of use consisting of two successive temples on the site. He deduced that the first temple was built in the late second or early third century AD. Oriented east to west, the shrine formed a rectangle 12 x 6.02m in size with a small apse in the west end-wall. The plan was typical of mithraic temples in that it consisted of a central
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
flanked by low benches. The building was constructed in stone with clay used to bond the blocks. A roughly-built
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...
(or ante-chapel) was later added to the outside of the east wall, 3m in depth and 6m in width. It was placed asymmetrically in line with the south wall so that there was no direct view from the front entrance into the temple. Similar to the shrine at Carrawburgh this
anteroom A vestibule (also anteroom, antechamber, or foyer) is a small room leading into a larger space such as a lobby, entrance hall or passage, for the purpose of waiting, withholding the larger space view, reducing heat loss, providing storage space ...
contained a low stone bench which may have been used in initiation rites. The east wall, however, was built over a badly filled-in pit and the subsequent subsidence caused the collapse of the structure.


The Mithraeum Phase II

The
mithraeum A Mithraeum , sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion ( grc, Μιθραίον), is a Mithraic temple, erected in classical antiquity by the worshippers of Mithras. Most Mithraea can be dated between 100 BC and 300 AD, mostly in the Roman Em ...
was rebuilt soon after, but without the ante-room. Access was now directly into the shrine from the outside, and it is unusual that the community would not have wanted at least some form of ante-chamber, especially as they also reduced the free space within the shrine by extending the benches. The interior of the shrine was remodelled to include a stone podium in front of the
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
(presumably for the
tauroctony ''Tauroctony'' is a modern name given to the central cult reliefs of the Roman Mithraic Mysteries. The imagery depicts Mithras killing a bull, hence the name ''tauroctony'' after the Greek word (, "bull killing"). A ''tauroctony'' is distinct ...
) and the lengthening of the benches. A new roof system was also put in with wooden posts standing in front of the benches. Five small uninscribed altars were found inside the nave, and the remains of a water-basin were recovered about two-thirds of the way along the northern bench. Gillam found two heads of the torch-bearers Cautes and Cautopates, and speculated that this was the result of a deliberate decapitation of the statues. The lack of any trace of the
tauroctony ''Tauroctony'' is a modern name given to the central cult reliefs of the Roman Mithraic Mysteries. The imagery depicts Mithras killing a bull, hence the name ''tauroctony'' after the Greek word (, "bull killing"). A ''tauroctony'' is distinct ...
was also used to argue for a deliberate desecration of the shrine; however, in the absence of any single fragment of it and without knowing what the statue smashed in 1844 was of, it is hard to say for sure. Certainly pottery evidence spread over the temple shows that it was out of use by the mid-fourth century. All the finds and altars were placed in the
Museum of Antiquities The Museum of Antiquities was an archaeological museum at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1960 and in 2009 its collections were merged into the Great North Museum: Hancock. History The museum was originally op ...
at the University of
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, which has since closed. The exhibits have now been transferred to the refurbished Great North Museum: Hancock nearby.


See also

* Caernarfon Mithraeum at
Segontium Segontium ( owl, Cair Segeint) is a Roman fort on the outskirts of Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales. The fort, which survived until the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, was garrisoned by Roman auxiliaries from present-day Belgium and Ge ...
in
Roman Wales The Roman era in the area of modern Wales began in 48 AD, with a military invasion by the imperial governor of Roman Britain. The conquest was completed by 78 AD, and Roman rule endured until the region was abandoned in 383 AD. The Roman Emp ...
*
London Mithraeum The London Mithraeum, also known as the Temple of Mithras, Walbrook, is a Roman Mithraeum that was discovered in Walbrook, a street in the City of London, during a building's construction in 1954. The entire site was relocated to permit contin ...
in Londinium


References

{{Reflist


Further reading

Daniels, C. 1989. ''Mithras and his Temples on the Wall'' pp16–19.
Gillam, J.P., MacIvor, I & Birley, E. 1954. 'The Temple of Mithras at Rudchester'. ''Archaeologia Aeliana'' (4th series) XXXII, 176-219


External links


Roman-Britain website
Mithraea Mithraism Hadrian's Wall Destroyed temples 3rd-century religious buildings and structures