Supposed Mithraeum of Saalburg

TNMM 1462 ↔ CIMRM 1040

At Saalburg at a distance of about 250 mtrs west of the decumanus of the castra and 30 mtrs west of the Roman road to Heddernheim a room was excavated by L. Jacobi in 1903, which has been interpreted as a Mithraeum. It is situated south of the Canabae and is adjacent to a sanctuary of Cybele. The finds are in the Saalburg museum at Homburg.

L. Jacobi, S.W.; WsdZ (Korr.) 1903, 140ff; BPhW 1903, 861; Passauer, Saalburg, 1ff; H. Jacobi, Führer Saalburg, 34ff; Saalburg in ORL (Lief. LVI No. 11), 46ff and Pl. VII, 3; Leipoldt, fig. 8.

The sanctuary (L. 11.60 Br. 6.00) is built in south-eastern direction and has relatively slight walls (D. 0.50–0.64), which suggests a wooden construction. Through a plastered pronaos (Br. 4.00) one enters the cult-room proper, which is divided into a central aisle (Br. 1.55) and two podia (H. 0.70 Br. 1.10). The pronaos is on the groundfloor of the cult-room. The roof was vaulted and consisted of loam tiles. On one of the tiles are a crescent and a star. Hardly anything of the cult niche has been preserved, nor of its representation of the bullkilling. There are remnants of steps before the niche. On the south-west side of the Mithraeum is a well divided into seven basins by wooden partitions. On the east side of the sanctuary is an inner court.

H. Schönaberger in Saalburg Jahrbuch 16, 1958, 87 considers the interpretation as a Mithraeum very doubtful: "Die Fundamente der 'dreischiffigen' oberirdischen Anlage setzten sich bei der Aufdeckung noch weiter nach Osten zu fort. Innerhalb der Mauerreste fanden sich in 1872 insgesamt 30 Brandgräber. Man hat daher eher den Eindruck von einem kleinen ummauerten Friedhof, der vielleicht zum benachbarten Metroon gehörte."