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Acta diurna is our Mithraic social stream for keeping up to date with what is happening in The New Mithraeum.
I recently had the opportunity to visit the remains of this mithraeum. It is located in Altafulla, in a pleasant seaside village on the Catalan coast. In situ, not much is preserved apart from the foundations, but it's worth a detour if you're passing through the area to visit the site and, if the weather is good, take a dip in the beach!
Remarkable monument not only because it is the first sculpted representation of the entire Mithraic tauroctony, but also because of the arrangement of certain figures, such as Cautes and Cautopates, who, even without their heads, seem to hesitate about what they are supposed to do.
If this phallus really belonged to the mithraeum where it is currently placed and not elsewhere, they must have had some fun in this temple.
On the York Tauroctony from C. Wellbeloved, Eburacum (1842)
This Mithraic group was found in the year 1747, at the depth of ten feet below the surface, by some workmen, who were engaged in digging a cellar in Micklegate, opposite to St. Martin's Church. Mr. Drake, to whom it was immediately shown, 'being at a loss,' as he candidly confessed, 'what to make of it, but judging it some representation of a heathen sacrifice or game, sent to his friend, Dr. Stukeley, as just a drawing of it as could be taken;' whose explanation of it was afterwards communicated by Mr. Drake to the Philosophical Society, and published in the Transactions of the Society for the years 1743-1750, Vol. X. p. 1311. This curious relic came, whether by gift or purchase the author knows not, into the possession of Mrs. Sandercock, of York, by whom it was bequeathed, with other property, to the late Dr. Robert Cappe, youngest son of the late Rev. Newcome Cappe; and after his death was presented, by the advice of th....
We totally need a picture of this. Who's in the area? ;-)
Studying Science of Religions (UC3M). Mithraeum at Lucus Augusti, comparative religion and symbolism in general.
Professor in Roman Archaeology. Published a monograph on Sol with Brill.
Exhilirated to be part of elucidating the obfuscated of The Mithraic Mysteries.
Mithras has been an abiding interest of mine for many years. I am delighted that more and more is becoming known and shared about him now.
The Rudchester (Vidobala) Mithraeum
Sometime before 1772 an unfinished altar was found at Rudchester although the exact find spot is unrecorded. RIB 2344 - No Translation
The capital carries two wheel-patterns above three recesses. After its discovery the altar was inverted and the base was recut to carry heraldic shields and the lettering: R + H and beneath WRAH, and on the face a simple IR.
Hodgson noted that the initials wr and ir may refer to members of the Rutherford family, which owned Rudchester until 1667
It was taken to Gateshead, where the Rev. Andrew Wood built it upside down into the garden-wall of his Rectory.
Later presented to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne and kept in the Black Gate, being finally transferred to the Museum of Antiquities
The Mithraeum
In August 1844, 5 altars and a statue were discovered by men 'working stones out of a mound of earth” about 200 yards west of Rudchester Manor. This find was published by John Bell and Thoma.
Hi, I was so glad to find s.th. about my most preferred male god. I am sure that I was a member in past lifes.
Many thanks for the information, John. The page has been updated.
Stockstadt mithraeum is not located at Saalsburg Kastell. Stockstadt is at least 30 Kilometers from Saalburg to the southeast. Stockstadt had its own fort (kastell) on the Limes. I wrote an article on Stockstadt fot Our Common Sun about ten years ago. I have been to Stockstadt and there is an excellent museum there.
The Digital Atlas of Roman Sanctuaries in the Danubian Provinces (DAS) is the first comprehensive digital and open access representation of sacralised spaces founded and maintained during the Principate in the territory of the Danubian provinces.
Thank you for sharing it and congratulations for your beautiful and interesting work. Sincerely, G.
You might be interested in a digital reconstruction that I did of the 2nd c. AD tauroctony sculpture in the British Museum. I used this fresco in Capua as the guide for reconstructing the clothing patterns and colors on the sculpture. https://twitter.com/chapps/status/1482147025185480706.
Indeed, Stephen. The catalogue is highly recommendable for all audiences, academic, professional and the simply curious. By the way, some of its articles can be found on this very site thanks to the generous support of the publisher, the Musée Royal Mariemont.