Mithraic arcosolium of Catacombe de Marcellino e Pietro

TNMM 342

Despite the popularity of the cult of Mithras in Rome in the 4th century AD, the archaeological record provides evidence for only two tombs associated with the followers of Mithras. The lack of Mithraic burials is most likely linked with the pro-Christian bias towards the funerary material found in the Roman catacombs, which had dominated the catacomb scholarship since their re-discovery in the late sixteenth century. However, following a recent development in the understanding of how the subterranean cemeteries were used in antiquity, it is possible to begin a re-evaluation of the available material. An arcosolium from the Catacomb of SS. Peter and Marcellinus decorated with two separate dining scenes may shed new light on our knowledge about Mithraic burials in Rome. In the case of this particular tomb, the evidence suggests that the owner(s) of the arcosolium were most likely pagans, possibly followers of Mithras, who migrated to Rome from north of the Alps in the early 4th century AD.

[…] The lunette of arcosolium is decorated with a dining scene supplemented with the inscription SABINA MISCE (‘Sabina, mix!’) (Pl. 3: 1-2), which closely resembles the inscriptions of Agape and Irene found in seven neighbouring tombs. For this reason, the arcosolium has been commonly interpreted as Christian and not much attention has been paid to the rest of the tomb’s decoration (e.g. Jastrzębowska 1979, 22; Dunbabin 2003, 178). However, the scene with Sabina is not unique because of its unusual inscription but because a) it is not supplemented by any image that could potentially reflect the Christian faith (i.e. a biblical or miracle scene or even an orant), b) the dining scene itself differs from the convivial representations found in the neighbouring cubicula, and c) an additional dining scene is represented on the wall above the arcosolium.